


Tranquility

by kenshi_vakarian7



Series: Tranquility [1]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Destroy Ending, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Injury Recovery, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-17 03:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 174,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11267322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenshi_vakarian7/pseuds/kenshi_vakarian7
Summary: Nearly a year after the Reaper War, Shepard and Garrus find a new home that's located somewhere not-so-warm and tropical.Contains a series of stories of domestic life post-ME3.





	1. Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for ff.net between February 4, 2013 to June 21, 2017.

The sun was high up in the bright blue sky as people within the boundaries of Toronto went about their day. What was once a beautiful city was now mostly rubble, save for a handful of buildings that managed to avoid the Reaper onslaught.

A building within the city, once a department store, currently served as a makeshift hospital since many of the original medical facilities were destroyed in the initial attack. Surviving doctors, nurses, and volunteers were hard at work to undo the reaper’s damage as best they could.

Today a handful of people came out of the sliding glass doors on the building’s back and began their approach towards a waiting skycar at the street curb. There were a few nurses and one doctor in uniform surrounding a single patient in a wheelchair. It wasn't exactly standard to bring a patient to a car behind a building, but the last thing the group needed was to be hounded by new reporters and journalists, particularly at the person in the wheelchair. There was a good reason for all of this…

After eight months in the hospital, Commander Shepard, the savior of the galaxy, was finally being released.

Had it been at all possible, Shepard would have performed a victory dance. Okay, so she was only awake three out of the eight months she was in the hospital, but even so, the confinement had nearly driven her insane. Being brought outside, knowing that she was finally getting out of here she realized that she could practically taste her freedom.

However, being in a wheelchair prevented her from doing said victory dance. There were two reasons for the chair: For one, it was standard procedure for patients to be released from the hospital in a wheelchair. The second reason, one more somber, were the bolts and rods in her hips and legs that kept her together. It was an old procedure the doctors had had to resort to because of the current lack of resources, but one that was necessary if it meant she could walk at all. That ability to walk, however, was very limited at this time. It was slow and it took a lot more effort than she was comfortable with, but at least she could do it, if only for a very short time.

With that, Shepard was forced to take a medical leave from the military. She remembered how Admiral Hackett had mentioned the idea of her retirement some weeks ago, but she only laughed at the suggestion.

"I'll just take the medical leave for now," Shepard remembered saying to the older man when he came to visit her. "You never know, I could be up and running in no time."

The group soon reached the skycar, and Shepard smiled as they met up with a familiar turian who was leaning against the vehicle with his arms folded in front of his chest. He was wearing his civilian clothes, something that almost surprised Shepard because she was used to seeing him in armor. He did keep that glowing blue visor over his left eye, though.

 _I'm sure that will never change,_ Shepard thought with amusement.

"Hey Garrus," she said once she and her escort were a few feet away.

Garrus stared at her with his steel blue eyes, his mandibles spreading out in a turian version of a grin. "Hey. Are you ready to go?"

Shepard nearly laughed. "Heck yeah! I've been waiting to leave this place ever since I woke up."

"I don't doubt that for a second."

Garrus reached for her hand. Without even thinking about it, Shepard took it with her own. Then he gently pulled her up from the wheelchair before helping her get into the passenger seat of the skycar. Normally, she hated feeling helpless and would have tried to get into the vehicle herself. Even with the bolts and rods, getting into the car would not have been all that difficult.

However, considering that she was being released from the hospital today – and seeing the hint of happiness in Garrus' eyes – she decided to let it go just for today.

Soon, Shepard was settled in the car. Garrus closed the door before he made his way to the driver's side. She turned her head to the doctor and nurses and waved goodbye to them. They did the same before walking back towards the facility. Sure, she gave them hell about being confined here, but she also made sure to let them know how much she appreciated the care they gave her.

They also did an excellent job in keeping the reporters away; only once did she give an interview. It was to help boost the galaxy’s morale by confirming her survival. The reporter who got lucky to land the interview was paid well by the Alliance. With that, she agreed on two things: Not to ask personal questions and not to reveal the hospital Shepard was staying in. As far as Shepard knew, the reporter made good on that promise.

Soon, Garrus got into the car. He put on his seat belt before starting up the vehicle. Once the car was in the air and within traffic, there was a comfortable silence between them. Shepard took hold of Garrus' hand and brought it closer to her before resting both hands on her thigh. Their fingers laced despite her five digits against his three. She felt him squeeze her hand a little while controlling the vehicle with his free arm. Feeling content by the contact, she turned her head towards the window.

From the car, Shepard saw the damage of the war that still lingered amongst the rebuilt. It suddenly seemed so long ago that she’d found herself in the middle of the war fighting against the Reapers. It was almost hard to believe she had been able to live through it in the end.

When they exited Toronto and entered more open land, Shepard turned her head to Garrus. "So," she started to say. The edge of one corner of her lip curled up a little. "Are we going somewhere we're not supposed to?"

Garrus chuckled at that, thinking briefly on one of the better memories of the war. It was the time he’d taken her on top of the Citadel’s Presidium during one of their few shore leaves. "As tempting as it is, well… let's just say that it's a surprise."

That got a raised eyebrow from her. "Now you got me curious. Any possible hints I might get out of you?"

She noted another smile from him. "Not this time, only that it'll be a few hours before we get there."

Shepard leaned back against her chair. "I'll relax until then… not that I did enough of that at the hospital."

That got another chuckle out of the turian. "I'm surprised you didn't try to make a grand escape during your stay."

"Well… five out of eight of those months I spent in a coma, and I'm sure my legs wouldn't get me too far. Damn! I should've bribed you into calibrating the wheelchair to make it go faster."

"Suddenly, I'm curious to know how you would have bribed me."

It was almost a struggle to keep a straight face. "I have a few… ideas."

Garrus laughed. "I'm sure you do."

Comfortable silence fell between them again, this time lasting longer than before. Their hands were still clasped together with each of them gently rubbing their thumb in small circles on the other's knuckles a few times. They only pulled apart whenever Garrus had to use both of his hands to drive.

It was a few hours and a couple of rest stops later before Garrus reached their destination. On the way, they drove through what looked like an old town that, surprisingly, looked barely touched by the Reapers. Then again the machines were primarily focused on cities and suburban areas with a large population, so they would have ignored a small town like this one.

What also surprised Shepard was that she saw quite a few aliens walking the streets, a good chunk of them being asari and turians. She saw some salarians and even a couple of quarians.

"Huh," Shepard said. "I assume some of the aliens decided to stay here."

Garrus nodded. "It was a while before they were able to get even a couple of mass relays up and going. While they waited, some of them settled in various places around Earth… just in case the relays never got fixed. I heard this particular town still had plenty of humans, but those welcomed the aliens with open arms when they had nowhere else to go. They even opened a market that sold imported dextro-food once the relay to Palaven was fixed."

Shepard nodded. "Lucky you. Sounds like you've been here before."

There was a brief pause before Garrus replied. "Well, I had to get my dextro-supplies somewhere. The stuff sold in Toronto was mostly rations and nutrient paste. It was nice to get real food, even if it was imported and thus not as fresh as on Palaven."

"Well, in that case, we'll have to go on a trip to Palaven so you can enjoy fresh food. I'm sure your father and sister would love for us to visit soon."

"They would. Speaking of which, I talked to my father this morning."

"Oh? What about?"

"Well, he was updating me on the recovery efforts on Palaven for the most part. He was happy to hear that you were getting out of the hospital today." A dry laugh came out of his throat. "Even now, I'm surprised he accepted… us."

"I imagine it would have been different back in the SR1 days," Shepard mentioned. "You did make it known back then that he hated spectres."

"Still does," Garrus reminded her. "But he does respect you and all you've done for the galaxy. I'm sure that keeping my ass alive the whole time was also a plus."

"Let me guess… he said something along the lines of, 'if it had to be a human…'"

"Not in those exact words, but pretty much."

"And how is your sister?"

"Solana's fine; I imagine she'll be marrying that soldier she met during the war soon enough. Hopefully, I'll get to see him before then. I'd like to have the chance to decide whether or not I should kick his ass from one end of Palaven to the other."

Shepard had to smile despite that last sentence. Even though he was thousands of light years away from home, Garrus was still being a protective brother. "She seemed infatuated with him the last time I spoke to her."

Garrus nodded in agreement. "Honestly, I'm glad she's happy. After caring for mom for so long, she… she deserves it."

Shepard squeezed his hand at the mention of his mother, who had died from Corpalis Syndrome just a few months before the war. "We all deserve it. I just wish… all of us could…" She found that she couldn't finish her sentence.

Garrus' grip on her hand tightened as well. "I know."

Before Shepard realized it, the skycar had stopped moving. "Well, we're here," Garrus announced.

Shepard turned her head, noting the new surroundings. They had parked the car in a paved driveway in front of what looked like an old-fashioned cabin. She noted the few steps that lead up to the large patio in the front. She also noticed how green the land surrounding the home was due to the spring weather. The hills in the distance were full of trees, and there was even a lake behind the cabin.

She didn't notice that Garrus had left the driver's seat until he opened the door on her side. The young woman stared up at her turian, a bit astonished for a moment by her own lack of attention.

"It's a neat place to hide from the reporters," he mentioned. "Nice, quiet, and far from the cities." His mandibles flared a bit, and, noting how wide his eyes were, the human detected that he was a bit anxious.

"Well, it is isolated enough," Shepard admitted as she looked at the land again. She then shifted her eyes at him. "I'm going to take a guess and say that this is a rented vacation house for us to hide out for an undetermined amount of time."

The anxiousness she sensed that Garrus was feeling seemed to increase. He began to grasp his own hands in front of him and stretched his fingers. "Well," he started to say, his subvocals flanging a bit. "Um, it's actually… um… well… I know this place isn't exactly warm and tropical, but…"

He stopped when he noted a soft smile on Shepard's face as she figured out what he was trying to say. There were a few seconds of silence before she spoke. "So _this_ was what you were doing when you weren't at the hospital or on Palaven."

Garrus seemed to relax a little, though he continued to grasp his hands. "Well, once I knew you were going to be on medical leave, I wanted to find a place that was… well, I found this place two months ago when I learned about the nearby town and how they helped those from off-planet. I also know that, even now, the reporters are trying to find you, and I… I thought this place would be well isolated enough to keep them away."

Shepard's grin became wider, finding his thoughtfulness endearing. "Are you sure you can deal with the weather in a few months? This part of Earth can get very cold and snowy in the winter season."

"Well, the guy that sold this place assured me it doesn't get bad like Noveria. He had a brother who lived there and said this place was like… what did he say… the Sahara? – compared to there."

Shepard shook her head in amusement. "I suppose we'll see when the time comes."

The young woman then attempted to get out of the car, but before she got her hand on the car door to begin pulling herself up, Garrus was already scooping her in his arms, gently lifting her out before closing the car door with his foot.

The turian was just about to walk towards the house when he noticed Shepard staring at him with a raised eyebrow. He practically saw her asking him, 'What are you doing?'

"Um," he started. "I saw this vid once, forgot the name of it, where this girl was carried like this when she and her lover got their first home and-"

He stopped talking when Shepard started to chuckle. It left him unsure of what she was thinking for just a second before she wrapped both of her arms around his neck.

"You don't have to explain," Shepard assured him. She then leaned her face towards him before pressing her lips against his mouth plates. Garrus pressed into the kiss a bit, the best way he was able to return the human gesture before Shepard pulled back.

"Hey," Shepard suddenly said, her eyes widening as though she thought of something important. "Don't we have any furniture?"

Garrus began to walk towards their new home. "Well, just the important stuff for now, but we'll get more later."

"That's comforting… I hope."

It took a lot of effort on Garrus' part to unlock the front door without putting Shepard down, but he managed to get it done. Soon, they were over the threshold and into the living room. The wooden floor creaked a bit as Garrus walked through the room, soon bending his body a bit as he sat Shepard onto the large couch that was placed in the middle of the area.

Once Shepard sat, Garrus pulled back a bit, but kept his arms around her. She did the same around his neck. For what seemed like a while, the couple took in one another. Shepard noted the longing in his eyes and the way his mandibles slacked a bit from his face.

 _Something tells me that he doesn't believe this is all real._ The thought almost made her frown.

Shepard noticed that the turian took a deep breath before he leaned forward to brush his forehead against hers. It was an affectionate gesture they both shared since their first night together.

Shepard reached her hand up to touch his scarred mandible before speaking. "I'm a bit thirsty," she admitted. "I could go for some coffee."

Garrus pulled back before nodding. "Okay. I could go for some myself." He brushed his forehead to hers one more time before he got up and headed to the nearby kitchen.

Once alone, Shepard sighed as she inspected her surroundings. The first thing that caught her attention was the vaulted ceiling above her. She could already imagine the echoes that would fill the room if she and Garrus got… loud. She then looked around the living room. There was only the couch she sat on and the black coffee table in front of her. She would have been content just with that, but looking at the space, she knew that it was going to take more furniture to make the place feel full and more like home.

 _Home_ … now there's a word she never expected to use to describe any place. Well, except the Normandy perhaps.

Next there was the fireplace. It was large enough that Shepard was sure a krogan could curl himself into a ball and fit inside just fine. She was sure Garrus liked the fireplace. It looked as though it was definitely going to keep his turian hide warm once winter came.

Knowing that it was going to take a bit of time for Garrus to make coffee, Shepard decided to go and explore the rest of their new home. It required some effort to get up, but she was soon on her feet and began to slowly walk through the cabin.

Shepard had received physical therapy at the hospital to strengthen her legs and would continue to do so twice a week. There was a bit of improvement during her stay, but walking still strained her. She did it slowly as to not end up tripping, and she had to put her weight into every step, her upper body swaying a bit each time. Shepard could last like this for a few minutes before she had to rest. The doctors did suggest a cane, but the young woman declined, wanting to focus all she could on getting her legs’ strength back.

She passed the kitchen, which had an entrance wide enough for her to guess that it had had a standard door at some time. From her point of view, it was a bit small with the traditional stove, refrigerator, sink, and a couple of counters. Near the entrance, Shepard noted a small table that she was sure fit two people. The thought of her eating breakfast with Garrus every morning at that table gave her a bit of a warm feeling.

Shepard saw a hallway not too far and began walking towards it. She lifted her hand, dragging the tip of her fingers on the wall to guide herself. The first door was on the right-hand side and, upon peering in, she noticed the bathroom. It was windowless and small, and it contained a shower-and-tub combo, a pedestal sink and, of course, the toilet that looked as old as the house itself; about two hundred years, she guessed.

A bath did sound inviting, but Shepard decided to wait until tonight to do that. The young woman continued forward, reaching a door on her left through which she saw a small bedroom. There was currently a double twin bed, and Shepard guessed that Garrus had set it up for future guests. She was already imagining Tali setting her faceplate down (something that would soon be possible for her people) on the nightstand as she got ready for bed, or Liara looking at one of the many datapads scattered around the room as she spent half the night working.

Another door on the left led to a second bedroom which was slightly bigger than the other. It was completely empty save for the blinds that were covered by two windows, and she wondered what kind of furniture to buy for this room.

 _Maybe even find out what a Turian-human baby looks like,_ Garrus' voice suddenly played in her mind. It had been one of their last conversations during the fight in London, a time that, once again, felt so far away…

Of course, they both knew biology wouldn't cooperate, though she was sure trying would be fun either way. She nearly laughed as she remembered him mentioning how there would be a few little krogan running around after the war. She admitted (to herself only) that raising a baby krogan would be cute… at least until he was big enough to start head-butting everything in sight.

Shepard soon pushed the baby thoughts out of her mind. Now was not the time of think of that…

There was one more door, and she already knew where it led to. She pushed it gently, revealing the master bedroom. She walked over to the king size bed with a black nightstand on either side, both containing a matching lamp.

On the nightstand she realized Garrus already claimed, there was a holo showing a photo of the two of them. Shepard remembered the picture. It had been right after shore leave during the war, and they were just getting ready to board the Normandy. Before entering the airlock, Tali stopped them, wanting to take a picture of the couple. They were both a bit reluctant at first, but soon gave in when Tali mentioned that they might not get another chance.

Shepard was glad for that decision, more for Garrus' sake than anything else. She was sure that Tali had given the picture to him while the Normandy was stranded all those months ago…

Shepard shook the memories out of her head again. It was something she and Garrus hadn't talked about. She didn't want to imagine what he’d been thinking during those four months they were stranded while she lay in a coma at the hospital…

Soon, Shepard did notice two doors. One was definitely a closet, and the other she guessed led to a second bathroom. By then, her legs ached from her walk. When she turned her head Shepard noticed two chairs which faced the large windows overlooking the lake. Deciding to admire the view, Shepard took the last few steps before slowly sitting down.

The springtime tended to make nature pleasant. There were a few wildflowers blooming nearby, and a group of ducks hung out in and around the lake. She even noticed a small dock that could contain a sailboat if possible.

_Huh… I don't think I ever thought of going sailing._

Shepard then looked at the field close to the cabin. In her mind, she suddenly imagined a vegetable garden, which made her snort in amusement. That thought was definitely laughable. On the Normandy, she had needed a VI just to help her remember to feed the fish. She was sure if she ever tried gardening, the vegetables would be dead in no time.

_Well… maybe I could try to grow some dextro-stuff… then Garrus wouldn't have to eat all those imported-_

"Shepard?"

Speaking of Garrus...

"I'm in the bedroom!" she called out.

Shepard heard his footsteps against the creaking wooden floorboard before appearing in the bedroom. "There you are," he said. "I had a feeling you left to explore the cabin." He sat down next to her on the other chair before placing a mug filled with coffee onto the small table that sat between them.

"Thank you." Shepard grabbed the warm cup by the handle and took a small sip. It was too sweet for her taste, but still a huge improvement to the coffee she’d had to endure at the hospital. That stuff had tasted suspiciously like cardboard.

Garrus took a sip of his kava before speaking. "How do you like the place?"

"The view is nice," Shepard admitted. "Those trees on the hills… they'll change colors in the autumn season. There will be a lot of red, orange, brown, and yellow. It'll be really pretty."

"Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen trees change colors," Garrus admitted. "That'll be something to see. And you'll be happy to know that we have plenty of room for shooting contests when, you know, you want a rematch to gain back your title of Queen of the bottle shooters."

Shepard turned her head to him, raising an eyebrow at him while she smirked. "I've told you for the past two months, I missed on purpose."

Garrus gave her a playful grin. "Uh huh. Still can't admit your pride was bruised that day, huh?"

Shepard shook her head, but was still smiling. "Guess I'll never convince you."

~~~

The sun set on the horizon hours later. After eating take-out from the only diner within twenty miles that served both levo- and (imported) dextro-meals, Garrus relaxed on the king size bed wearing nothing but his sleeping pants. While he leaned against the headboard, he kept himself occupied with the datapad in front of him. It contained information from Primarch Victus about the turian refugees on Earth. Victus delegated to Garrus the small task of speaking with these refugees as soon as possible. He didn't want him to convince them to return to Palaven, but there remained the question as to why these turians chose to stay on a levo-based planet long after the war had ended.

That was something Garrus had wondered about for the last few months. He knew his reasons for staying on Earth, but he was curious as to why the other turians had decided to stick around. Had they felt settled enough that they saw no point in returning to Palaven by the time the relays were back up and running? Did they want to start over in a new place after losing so much?

His thoughts were cut off when he heard Shepard emerge from the master bathroom. Her hair was still wet from the bath she’d taken, and Garrus couldn't help but stare as he noticed that she wore nothing but a towel around her nude form.

Putting the datapad down on the nightstand, Garrus reached a hand towards her. Shepard took it with her own and he guided herself onto the bed until she was settled against the headboard. As she did, Garrus briefly looked down at her right leg, noting the deep scars from her multiple surgeries. Shepard had said it didn't hurt as much as it looked, but he sometimes wondered if she was just trying to convince him that she was fine so he stopped worrying.

"That bath felt nice," Shepard admitted. "And I was able to stay as long as I wanted this time. No more dealing with time limits."

As she spoke, Garrus carefully leaned onto her side of the bed, soon close enough to gently wrap his arms around her. In response, Shepard leaned into him, resting her head against his neck and raising one hand to grasp his forearm.

For a while, they sat like this hearing nothing more than the other's breathing and the occasional sounds of nature outside of their new cabin. Shepard remembered a conversation she had had with Liara when she and Garrus began their relationship. "I never thought I'd find peace in the arms of a turian," she’d said back then…

Shepard couldn't imagine anything more peaceful than this.

Then, Shepard broke the silence as she placed a kiss on the side of his neck. "I missed you…" she whispered.

Garrus nuzzled the top of her head with his plated cheek. "I've always been here. You know that."

Shepard shook her head. "No… I _missed_ you…"

It clicked in Garrus' mind as he realized what she was implying. He pulled away just enough to gaze into her eyes. Shepard immediately noticed the nervous look on his face, but there was also that hint of longing in his eyes, the same she’d seen earlier today.

"I… Shepard… I'm not sure if-"

She reached up to gently brush her fingers over the scarred side of his face. "I know you're worried, but I'm not made of glass. Besides, I want to take it slow… it's been too long."

Garrus took a deep breath. "If you're sure…"

It only required a nod and him seeing the lust in her eyes to convince Garrus. It was something he too had wanted, and needed, for so long. Their last time had been just before the push to Earth in the war. Had it really been that long? Soon, they were both moving further down onto the bed, their mouths pressed together in a deep kiss.

Their lovemaking was slow and careful as they traced familiar lines and scars both old and new. Neither of them forgot what the other liked even after months of longing for their other half. He was careful when he was on top of her as they became one. They gripped one another tightly with each wave, their voices echoing their need for each other in the quiet of their cabin. It didn't take long before she consummated with him following not too far behind.

Garrus was still on top of her as they both came down from their high. He put most of his weight in his arms as they rested on either side of Shepard, who had hers around his neck. They took a minute to catch their breath, feeling small beads of sweat on their own skin.

Then, Garrus pulled back a little to look at Shepard. He noticed her eyes, tired but full of love… love for him.

His heart suddenly clenched as memories of the last eight months flooded in his mind. He had been injured during their run to the beam. The turian had wanted nothing more than to finish the fight at Shepard's side, but no matter how stubborn he’d tried to be, he had known that she would see to his safety.

In all honesty, he would have done the same thing in her place.

After they’d said goodbye and she’d run back towards the beam, Garrus had been so sure that she was going to die. The thought alone had nearly torn him apart. Despite that, he’d attempted to remain strong… for her sake and that of their friends.

Then, there’d been those weeks of not knowing what had happened while he and the rest of the Normandy’s crew made repairs to the ship, which had been damaged by the Crucible's blast. When they eventually got communications back up and received news of Shepard being MIA, too much time had passed…

He still remembered the weight of the plaque containing Shepard's name in his hands. It was meant to join with the other names on the memorial wall, but something inside Garrus had told him not to put it up, not until he was sure that Shepard was truly gone.

The Normandy had been repaired enough to return to Earth after four months. Upon their arrival, they met with Admiral Hackett as well as Miranda Lawson, who gave them the news that Shepard was alive. However, she was in a coma and no one was sure when she would wake up, if she ever did.

Garrus had spent the next month by her bedside keeping a vigil. He’d actually been away seeing his father and sister over at the turian camp in Toronto when she’d finally woken up. He had practically sprinted to the hospital after he’d received the news. When back at her side, he’d said her name, her given name, and Shepard had responded by opening her eyes. She’d still been groggy from the drugs and unable to talk due to the equipment helping her breathe, but to see those eyes again made Garrus believe that everything would be all right.

He had been by her side during her recovery for most of her remaining time at the hospital. Garrus had only left when he’d needed to take care of things on Palaven a couple of times and also to set up their new home. The decision to buy the cabin had hastily been made, and while he’d been a bit nervous about it, he didn't regret the purchase one bit.

Now they were here in each other's arms in their new home. Shepard still had a long way to go in her recovery, but what mattered most was that she was alive. She was alive and safe in his arms.

Shepard looked concerned as she noticed the far-away look in his eyes. She reached up to caress his face. "Garrus." she whispered.

Hearing his name on her lips somehow made his throat tighten. Closing his eyes, he leaned into her before burying his face in the spot between her neck and shoulder. A few seconds later, Shepard frowned as his shoulders shook a bit just before a soft, brief keen escaped him. She could tell he was barely holding it back.

Hearing that sound made Shepard realize what he had been thinking about. She pressed her face into the side of his head and tightened her arms around him. "Please, don't cry," she whispered near his ear canal. "I'm here now. It's all right."

He took a deep breath before speaking in a hoarse voice. "I almost lost you…"

Gently, Shepard shifted them both with her arms until they were lying on their sides facing each other. She pulled back a little so that she could regard him, cupping his head with both of her hands. The young woman noted that his mandibles were pinched tight against his face, his eyes firmly shut.

"We have a future now. My recovery will be a long one, but that's a challenge I'd take over the Reapers any day. We can't let the past keep a tight grip on us." She nearly laughed at her own words. "I wish I’d taken my own advice during the war…"

Another deep sigh escaped him before Garrus opened his eyes to look at her. He lifted a hand to cup her chin between his thumb and index finger. "You're right. I'm sure it'll… take time for us to adjust to this new life, considering we've spent most of our old one fighting. The physical injuries and the PTSD will be there… but we can do this together, I'm sure of that."

Shepard smiled. "Don't ever forget, there's no Shepard without Vakarian."

Garrus brought her closer to him, tucking her head underneath his chin. "Never."

Throughout the night in each other's arms, Shepard and Garrus felt true peace for the first time either of them could remember.

 


	2. A Cold Night

In the darkness of his bedroom, Garrus took a sharp inhale as a nightmare shook him from his sleep. His eyes snapped opened with his mind still filled with the images he had seen.

Garrus shook his head quickly as he tried to get rid of the thoughts. The turian let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, his ears filled with the pounding rhythm of his heartbeat. He was also beginning to catch his breath as well.

The vision of his nightmares came back to his head; _his hand reached out to Shepard as she started to run for the beam, the horrifying sight of Harbinger just behind it. As the Normandy began to fly away from the chaotic scene, more red beams were shot from Harbinger, obliterating anything in its path. Garrus tried to call out her name, but nothing came out of his mouth. He was starting to yell out again when, suddenly, a beam struck Shepard. Garrus could only watch in horror as the beam engulfed his lover, her body quickly disintegrating into nothing but ash…_

Garrus shook the thoughts away again. His head clear, the turian noted that both his breathing and heart rate were steady. The sudden silence was comforting for once.

While taking a deep breath, he felt the bed slightly shift on his left. Garrus turned his head and saw Shepard's sleeping form. She was lying on her back with her right hand resting over her stomach. Although her head was turned away from his, he could still see that her face was in a relaxed state.

He was grateful for it… it meant that there were no nightmares for her tonight, at least so far. She had one last night, her screams waking him out of his own slumber. As they had done on the Normandy during the war, he held her in his arms as she tried to calm herself down. No words were exchanged between them and his hand had brushed in a slow, up and down motion on her back. He didn't stop until she was asleep again.

They both knew that these night terrors would occur long before they even met. Being career soldiers for years, post-traumatic stress disorder was inevitable. Naturally, the nightmares became more frequent for the both of them after the reaper war.

After a couple of minutes, Garrus reached a hand to brush a strand of hair from her cheek before tucking it behind her ear. He then leaned down to gently press a kiss to her temple in the best way a turian could with his mouthplates.

Pulling away, Garrus went to lie back down in hopes of getting more rest. However, the images of his nightmare returned to him, and he tried in vain to rid of them by thinking happier thoughts. After a few minutes, however, he realized that it wasn't working.

Giving up on getting more sleep for now, Garrus got himself up. Upon moving his blanket, the cold air hit the bare skin of his arms and torso. Shepard did warn him that this part of Earth got cold during the night. "At least it won't snow for quite a while," he remembered her assuring him just the other day.

The two had done a little shopping yesterday to get a few things for their cabin. One of the things that Shepard bought for him was a night robe tailored for turians. Of course, it was imported straight from Palaven and sold in the only clothing shop in town that catered to multiple species. Most of the other clothes weren't really to his taste, and he was sure that he was eventually going to order them to be shipped to his home from Palaven (he was already waiting on a shipment of dextro beer). At least the robe was nice. It was mostly black with thin, gold trims around the edge of the flaps and cuffs. The material was also thick enough to withstand the sharp, hard edges of his plates.

The robe was hanging over a chair in the room. He reached for it and then placed it around him before tying the rope around his slim waist in a knot. From there, he quietly left the room, making sure his footsteps were not heavy since he didn't want to accidentally wake Shepard up.

Garrus made his way to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. On his way, he realized that it was only more than three days ago since he brought Shepard here from the hospital. That night was… eventful, though Shepard was in some pain the next day mainly because the meds she was on in the hospital were wearing out. He felt bad about it, but Shepard assured him it was fine. He felt a little better after she said, "After waiting for so long, the pain is damn worth it."

Shepard felt better for the most part the next day, but she wanted to move around a bit despite being told to rest up. That was when they went shopping for food, some clothes (mostly for her), and a few small stuff including items to decorate their new home with. They did plan to go window shopping for furniture, but her legs were aching by then despite resting multiple times, so it was best to go home.

Garrus briefly thought back on the apartment that Shepard had at the Citadel. He thought that would be a good place to retire, but as far as either of them knew, it was nothing more than rubble now like most of the other Citadel wards after the Crucible's blast. It was a shame because Shepard only had the place for such a short time. Currently, workers and volunteers were working on cleaning up the station before moving on to the actual rebuilding process. The guess was that it would be quite a few years before the Citadel would be functional again.

After drinking the glass of water, Garrus decided to return to the bedroom. Instead of lying back down, however, he went over to one of the two chairs that faced the window overlooking the lake beyond the backyard. Luna's gentle light shimmered over the lake creating twinkling glows with each wave like the distant stars above in the cloudless night sky.

The sight was peaceful. However, Garrus' thoughts were far from it. The images of his nightmares were gone now, but he was soon hit with a flashback of the actual beam run in London…

* * *

_A hot, searing pain hit Garrus as the Mako exploded upon crashing down. He had already dived to the ground moments ago to avoid it, but there was still not enough distance. He can only hope that Tali got luckier than he did._

_He tried to get himself up despite the pain, but Garrus found, to his frustration, that he was struggling to do so. Before he realized it, Shepard was by his side, helping him to his feet with Tali behind them. He was dragged over to another fallen Mako before the three of them sat by it for coverage. Garrus noted the look of concern etched on Shepard's face, and he nodded to let her know that he was okay._

" _Normandy, do you copy?" Shepard said, her voice hinting desperation. Her volume went a bit higher at her next words. "I need and evac right now!"_

_For a moment, Garrus was confused. Throughout the whole run to the Citadel beam, Admiral Anderson and the others had made it clear that this was most likely a one-way trip they couldn't fall back from._

_However, looking at their surroundings now, Garrus can only guess that Shepard saw how this plan was being sent straight to hell. Harbinger's beams continued to slaughter those around them. He could hear more vehicles exploding and the screams of those being shot down. He had even seen some of the soldiers turned to nothing more than ash._

_The familiar sounds of the Normandy's engines were soon heard as it approached the chaos. Garrus could only hope that Harbinger didn't shoot at them or the Normandy while the three of them evacuated._

" _Come on!" Shepard called out as she hauled Garrus back on to his feet. He gritted his teeth as more pain hit him, but he forced himself to ignore it. With Tali just behind them, they made a run for it._

_The cargo bay doors opened for them with some of the soldiers coming out to shoot at any of the reaper forces that attempted to come near them. Tali went up the ramp first, but didn't go too far before turning to Garrus and Shepard._

" _Here," Shepard said. "Take him." He didn't comprehend what was happening until he felt her arms leaving him as he was passed over to their quarian friend._

" _Shepard…" he managed to breathe out as Tali got a hold of him._

" _You gotta get out of here," she said._

" _And you gotta be kidding me!" he said, nearly spitting his words out bitterly._

_Shepard frowned as her voice lowered. "Don't argue, Garrus."_

_Garrus started to feel Tali pull him back a bit, but he retaliated by pulling towards Shepard. "We're in this until the end," he called out, almost pleading._

_Garrus stopped struggling upon looking at Shepard's eyes, noting that they glistened with tears. He could tell that she was trying to hold them back by the way her eyebrows arched down._

_She wasn't coming back from this. He had a feeling that this was what she was thinking…_

" _No matter what happens here," Shepard began, her words cracking under emotions barely held back. She took a few steps forward up the ramp towards him, whispering her next words so that only he can hear. Within reach, she placed her hand on the side of his face containing his scars. "You know I love you. I always will."_

_There was so much that he wanted to say then. He tried to quickly figure out a way to get her to come back onto the ship with him. He wanted to be sure that he wouldn't lose her._

_In the end, Garrus knew that it couldn't happen no matter how much he screamed and pleaded. He knew that this was what she had to do. This was a battle three years in the making, and Shepard had to see to it that this would be finished once and for all. She had to make sure that what remained of the galaxy was saved, even if meant that it would become empty without her in what remained of his life._

" _Shepard… I…" he tried to say through the lump in his throat. He tilted his head to lean into her touch, his free hand grabbing hold of her wrist. The touch was simple, but he savored it, committing it to his memory as he stared in her beautiful eyes, mesmerized one more time by its brilliant color._

_He managed to get out the words he knew meant so much to her. "Love you too…" A ghost of a smile came over Shepard's lips as she pulled away. Garrus held on to her wrist until she was far enough out of reach. Even then, he continued to hold out his arm towards her as though he was willing her to change her mind and come back with him._

_Shepard's smile faded as she briefly looked back at the chaos behind her. Just as quickly, she turned back him and Tali. "GO!" she commanded._

_Garrus clenched his outstretched hand before his arm fell back to his side. He watched Shepard go until he felt Tali urge him to back onto the ship. With reluctance, he let her help him back inside._

_As he heard the cargo bay doors close and the engines prepping to return to space, the weight of the possibility of losing Shepard suddenly became too much. He collapsed onto his knees, his heavy frame taking the quarian helping him down with him._

" _Garrus!" Tali called out with both concern and frustration. "Come on, we have to get to the med bay."_

_His mandibles fluttered against his face, and he bowed his head with his eyes shut tight. "She's going to die…" he breathed, his voice hoarse in pain._

" _Please, Garrus," Tali begged quietly. "You need medical attention. She wouldn't… she wouldn't…"_

_That was when he felt Tali shaking. It wasn't the kind of shaking that came from being upset. Opening his eyes, he turned to her and noticed the damage her suit had taken from the explosion. There was a good chance that there was a rupture somewhere._

_Garrus nearly gasped in horror, feeling like an idiot. Here he was nearly on the edge of being torn apart by his own emotions. Meanwhile, one of his closest friends was most likely starting to develop a fever or an infection that may or may not kill her._

" _I'm sorry, Tali," Garrus quietly said, feeling the heavy weight of his guilt on his shoulders. Slowly, they helped each other back on their feet before heading to the elevator to take them to the crew deck. "I'm so sorry…"_

_Tali nodded, tears streaking down her face behind her mask. "Don't be."_

_Garrus closed his eyes again as he shook his head. "She wouldn't want me to fall apart..."_

_Tali nodded in agreement. "No… she wouldn't."_

* * *

Garrus couldn't remember much of what happened after he and Tali got into the elevator. All he knew was that, when he woke up in the medbay hours later, the Normandy had landed on an unknown planet, EDI was offline, Tali had lost consciousness from a fever and infection, and all communications channels were nothing but static.

Worst of all, there was the one lingering question… what happened to Shepard?

The Normandy crew stayed within the confines of the ship for a couple of days until they were sure that the unknown planet they were on contained breathable air. Once it was confirmed, Garrus and Joker were the first two to exit the ship.

It was strange to Garrus the first time he saw that planet. After seeing so much devastation from the war, it was almost blinding to see a place untouched by the Reapers. It spoke of the tranquility of life, one that he knew Shepard hoped to seek after the war.

"I think my days of saving the galaxy are over when this is done," she had said to him the night before London.

While continuing to look over the unknown planet, Garrus realized how this was not right for Shepard. She had busted her ass for the last few years trying to fight against the Reapers. If she… didn't make it… was her sacrifice her 'reward' for working harder than anyone to make sure that there would be peace once more?

Yes, life can be unfair, but there was a difference in life between unfair and injustice… this was definitely the latter. Garrus imagined that most on the outside would consider her sacrifice an honor. Then again, no one knew her as well as those closest to her, especially those who served under her on the Normandy.

Especially him.

All Shepard wanted in the end was a life away from conflict and constant fighting, to know what peace felt like. Sure, there were those who say that she was a soldier who could never retire, who would itch for some action within a week. Truthfully, how would they, or even Shepard, know until she actually tried it? And no, those six months of her being on lock-up didn't count. The Alliance didn't exactly let her do much to begin with. Even a citizen under that kind of lock-up would go stir crazy after a few days.

After stepping outside the Normandy, Garrus didn't go out as much. The primary focus was to fix the outer damage the ship had taken in the crash, followed by getting systems back online.

The loss of EDI was hard on the crew, especially Joker who wept without shame when her shutdown was realized. She may have been an AI, but she was treated as a member of the crew like everyone else. Traynor, Adams, and the other engineers were doing all they can to get her back online. In the meantime, her mobile platform was lying within the AI core.

Garrus spent most of his time in the main battery. The Thanix cannon took some damage in the crash, so there were plenty of calibrations to be done to get it back to normal… well, at least to Garrus' satisfaction. He would work himself to exhaustion so that when his laid himself down on the cot in the main battery, he would fall asleep almost instantly. It helped with keeping his mind off of… things.

Garrus should have known that his allies would be worried about him. At most, three of them would come into the battery during the day to check on him, mainly Liara, Kaidan, and Tali once she recovered. Garrus knew that they meant well, but there were times he just wanted them to just go away and to leave him alone.

It was two in-a-half months after the crash when they finally got communications back up thanks to Traynor's hard work. By then, everyone on the ship was going stir crazy with all the waiting and small improvement. The outer hull of the ship was repaired at least, but there were still much to do within the Normandy before they could safely take flight.

By that time, the engineers managed to recover some data from the AI core. As Adams mentioned to the crew, it was definitely an improvement from the beginning, but he felt that there may still be a long way to go.

"Perhaps once we are back on Earth, we may have more access to resources that may help us in the recovery effect," Adams had explained that same day. Still, he warned that even if they recovered most of EDI's data, there was a chance that she may not be as she was before. Even with that in mind, it still gave everyone hope, especially Joker.

Once communications were up, they connected to the Alliance, and the person who retrieved the signal immediately transferred them to Admiral Hackett. By then, everyone on the ship had reported to the CIC to hear what was going on.

The first thing Hackett said was that the Reapers were indeed destroyed by the red wave from the Crucible. This earned some cheers from some of the crew since no one was sure what became of the machines. He did note that the mass relays all around the galaxy were also caught in the blast, but were currently being repaired. In the meantime, all ships would have to rely on FTL drives.

Hackett also explained that, with the exception of their software uploaded within the quarians' suits, the geth were wiped out from the blast. There was a theory that the reaper code that was uploaded within the geth network may have something to do with it.

With her own Reaper-based technology, it would explain why EDI became non-functional.

Hackett then went on to report the death of Admiral David Anderson as well as The Illusive Man. Both of their bodies were recovered near the blast's epicenter about a week after the Reapers were destroyed. Anderson's funeral had taken place weeks ago, but they plan another memorial service at a later date.

Then, Hackett became more solemn as he knew that the next set of news was one that he was sure everyone on the Normandy waited for. Until recently, Commander Shepard was declared MIA. However, with so much time passing by that point, the Alliance realized that there was a small chance that she would be found dead or alive. They had changed her status to KIA.

When the communication with Hackett ended, all was deathly quiet in the room with the exception of a few muffled sobs coming from some of the crew members. As for Garrus himself, he only stood where he was for a few moments before he abruptly turned away and returned to the main battery.

If he wasn't withdrawn before their contact with Hackett, he was from that moment. Naturally, his friends tried to console him, but to no avail.

"If you want to comfort anyone, comfort Joker," Garrus said at one point to Liara. The poor guy definitely needed it for sure with the way he carried himself, at least from the few times he's seen the pilot.

The next month went by in almost a crawl. By then, everyone was starting to get irritable and there wasn't a day that went by without someone getting into an argument. Garrus managed to get into two of those fights. One was to stand up for Joker when Javik attempted to suggest that the pilot should 'not grieve over a mere synthetic.' Sure, everyone knew that Javik didn't exactly have a love affair with synthetics, but even Garrus thought that was crossing the line. He was sure that Joker would have broken his knuckles beating the daylights out of the Prothean had Garrus not intervene. Javik attempted to justify his words before Tali broke up the fight.

The second fight was with Kaidan. Because of Kaidan's rank, he was automatically made captain of the Normandy. The second human spectre had made it clear that though he would do his best to lead, he could never replace Shepard. She was the true leader, even in spirit. For as long as they've known each other, Garrus and Kaidan had always respected each other as soldiers and comrades. On more quiet nights when they ran into each other in the mess hall during the war, the two would share their own stories (but not like the pissing contests Garrus would have with Vega) over beer. One night, Kaidan even inquired about dextro recipes. "Looking to impress a turian lady?" Garrus asked jokingly. Kaidan had chuckled at that, but it turned out that he was curious what turian males considered 'the food of their people' since 'beer, bacon, and beef' were known to be the food of human males (the answer was danorian beer, slanina, and karne).

However, during one of the rare times Garrus was in the mess hall to retrieve some water and dextro nutrient paste, Kaidan had been speaking with Liara about the idea of making additional plaques for the memorial wall for EDI, Anderson, and Shepard. Upon hearing Shepard's name, Garrus came over to the table and asked Kaidan to repeat what he just said to Liara.

Only later did Garrus realize that perhaps he was being a bit irrational about it. Perhaps that was the moment it dawned on him that he was going to be spending the remainder of his life without Shepard. The idea of her name going up on that wall seemed so final and… it was a step that Garrus wasn't ready for.

Garrus suggested that they should wait until they were at least back on Earth before they did that. Kaidan, however, felt that putting those names up would bring closure to everyone on the ship.

"Maybe… except for me," Garrus ended up saying. He wanted to make sure that Shepard truly was gone before he took that step.

For his benefit, Kaidan was just as upset as everyone else about their fallen friends, but he was also trying to be realistic about Shepard's fate. He didn't believe that Shepard would be found alive at this point. The sooner her name was placed up, the easier it would be to move on.

Garrus argued against it, his voice rising with every sentence. "We should wait until we know for sure," he said. Kaidan reminded him that the Alliance themselves confirmed her death despite not finding a body.

"The Alliance doesn't know shit!" Garrus had yelled out. "The last time she was declared dead by them, it turned out that she was on a slab being rebuilt by Cerberus!"

"And we both know that Cerberus won't be doing that again!" Kaidan retorted.

By then, Liara tried to intervene, telling them to stop with their argument. Her form even started to flare up with her biotics just in case the two of them began a fist fight. Even with that warning, neither of them listened to her.

It was a question from Garrus that finally ended the argument. "If you still had her heart as you did three years ago, would you still feel the same, or would you feel the way I do?"

That earned a long moment of silence from Kaidan as he stared up at Garrus. Then, Kaidan's shoulders slouched as he let out a long exhale. He stared down at the ground, his eyebrows arched down in an attempt to keep the tears in his eyes at bay.

"I don't know," Kaidan finally said with a voice hoarse and quiet. "I honestly don't know…"

Garrus immediately returned to the main battery after that. He wasn't surprised when Liara followed. She tried to explain Kaidan's point of view in her own way. "He only means well and is doing what he thinks is best for the crew. It may not be closure for you, but… perhaps it could be way to mend even a little bit of the pain."

Finally, Garrus simply said, "I'll think about it." In all honestly, he only said it so that Liara could leave him alone. She left soon after.

Since that day, Garrus only came out of the battery when absolutely necessary, even taking a few rations into the room. The less he was around the others, the better it was.

Then came the announcement everyone was waiting for… the Normandy was finally fit for flight. Scans indicated that they were only five systems away from Earth and that it would take about a week on FTL to reach it.

The night before take-off, Liara entered the battery. She quietly mentioned that the plaques were made for the memorial, Shepard's included. The asari had made it clear that Shepard's name would not be placed up unless it was by Garrus. For a moment, Garrus had in mind to take that plaque and throw it out the airlock. Then, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Shepard would not want him to be holed up here and continue to deny that she was gone.

If this was the closest to a memorial that she would get, he was sure that Shepard would want him to be there. So finally, he said he would do it. This earned a sad smile from Liara.

The next morning, the crew gathered in front of the memorial wall. No one had said anything to each other or even moved until Joker stepped forward with the plaque containing EDI's name in his hands. He said a few brief words about her before placing her name up. He then backed away, his head bowed so that the brim of his hat covered his eyes.

Kaidan went next. He held the plaque containing Anderson's name. Just as Joker did, he said a few words about Anderson before placing his name up on the wall.

Garrus knew he was next even as he stared down at the plaque containing Shepard's name. It seemed simple enough… step forward, say a few words, and place her name up.

He did take those few steps forward, but it all he can do. The words he wanted to say ended up being stuck in his throat. He stared down at her name again, brushing his hand over it a couple of times. As he gazed up at the wall once more, something inside of Garrus told him not to put the plaque up. He kept telling himself it was for the best, but the little voice telling him otherwise couldn't seem to go away.

Finally, he turned. "I can't…" he uttered before dashing for the main battery. He made sure to lock the door behind him.

Later that night, when the Normandy was in flight and he was sure that everyone had retired for the night, Garrus made his way out of the battery. He had meant to go up to the CIC to see the stars from the bridge. Instead, he found himself pressing the button in the elevator that would lead him to the Captain's quarters.

The room was as he remembered it, and it looked to be untouched since Shepard was last here. The aquarium VI continued to feed the fish in the tank to his left, and at least one person was feeding her hamster (he guessed it was Tali… she loved that little guy).

Garrus had walked slowly through the room until he sat himself on the large bed, specially his side of the bed. That was when he noticed a new object on the nightstand. Upon reaching for it, it lit up with a picture of himself and Shepard standing in front to the docking bay doors leading to the Normandy. It was one he remembered Tali taking after shore leave.

He realized two things in that moment. One, it was taken on the day Shepard confessed her love for him on top of the Presidium. And two, aside from a few group photos, this was the only holo of the two of them.

That night in the room he had shared with her, Garrus let himself grieve.

As predicted, the Normandy took a week to return to Earth, soon arriving at the docking port in London. Not even an hour after landing, Garrus receive a vid-call from Miranda Lawson. Apparently, news of the Normandy's return spread fast. She convinced the turian to find a private a room, and when he did, Miranda informed him of news that he did not expect to hear.

Commander Shepard was alive.

It was a long story that Miranda to try to condense as much as possible. Three days after the Crucible's blast, volunteers went up to what was left of the Citadel to help search for survivors in any place that was still breathable. This included Jack and her biotic students from Grissom Academy. Another three days later, Jack and her students found a battered, burned, but living female body within the rubble.

The female was wearing burned armor that was broken, cracked, and parts of it melted into her skin. One part that broke off revealed a pair of blue wings on her right shoulder blade, the skin there partially burned. Jack immediately knew that it was Shepard. After all, _she_ was the one who inked her with that design on their last shore leave.

However, even with that proof, it couldn't be confirmed. The tattoo was so recent that there wasn't time to add it to the list of distinguished markings into Shepard's military record. Until there was other proof, the female would be identified as 'unknown.'

Not surprisingly, Jack was pissed. She couldn't be where Shepard was all the time, but when she did, the biotic did all she could to convince the Alliance that the 'unknown' was in fact Shepard. Her attitude only got her banned from the hospital after her third visit.

Finally, Jack contacted Miranda in hopes of confirming her cybernetic implants as a way to identify Shepard. Garrus was sure that Jack was thinking, 'that's something I'd thought I never do.' Miranda tried getting to the commander as soon as she could.

It was only two weeks ago when Miranda arrived at the Toronto hospital Jack said Shepard was staying in. Her assistance with the Alliance, her former association with Shepard, and her records of the Lazarus project gained her access to the room where she was being treated.

All it took was a five minute scan and matching Shepard's cybernetics with old Ceberus records for Hackett and the Alliance to finally be convinced. That same day, Miranda learned that the Normandy crew would return to Earth within two weeks. She had wanted to deliver the news right away, but the Alliance suggested on waiting until they were back on Earth. This way, they could focus on getting back home.

So of course, as soon as Miranda got word of the Normandy's return, the first thing she did was contact Garrus. To say that he was stunned by the news would be an understatement.

As soon as the rest of the crew got the news, Vega immediately suggested that they all take the shuttle to Toronto to visit their commander. There was a lot that had to be done, but everyone agreed that seeing Shepard alive, despite being in a coma, would not only help with morale, but to know that there is hope.

Cortez has taken the wheel with Joker sitting up front with him. Everyone else; Garrus, Kaidan, Liara, Tali, Vega, Traynor, and Dr. Chakwas, all crammed into the back of the shuttle (Javik had since departed from the group for unknown reasons. Garrus would later learn from Shepard that the Prothean had left to rejoin his fallen comrades). The ride was mostly quiet, but there were a few times where Joker poked fun at Cortez's driving. That got a smile from some of the others, even Garrus. Most likely, Joker wouldn't have the humor he once had, but it felt good to know that at least some part of the old Joker remained. Later, Liara would guess that learning of Shepard's survival gave Joker the hope he needed to keep going.

Garrus spent most of the ride in silence. He can only hope that things would get better from here. When Shepard wakes up from her coma, there would be so much to say…

* * *

"Garrus?"

A soft voice stirred Garrus from his thoughts. He blinked a few times before he found himself back in the darkness of his new cabin. He was still sitting down in front of the bedroom window looking out at the lake and stars. The turian hadn't notice Shepard getting out of bed, not until she sat herself down on the left arm of the chair and whispered his name.

He turned to see her. Shepard only wore a sports bra and shorts, which she mentioned was easier to sleep in for right now. The moon's soft light glistened the lines of her fresh scars. Most would never completely heal, but some would fade in time. Still, she was beautiful to him.

"Hey," Garrus finally whispered.

Shepard began to gently stroke the top of his fringe with her fingers. "I called you name a couple of times from the bed, you know."

Garrus blinked at that. The chair he sat on was only a few feet from the foot of the bed. His thoughts must have brought him far away from reality. "Did you?"

She slowly nodded. "I assume you had a lot on your mind."

Without thinking about it, Garrus gradually rested his head on her bare stomach and relished the soft feel of her skin against his cheek. " _Too_ much on my mind if you ask me."

Shepard continued her gentle strokes on his fringe. "I guess we're both still feeling the effects of the war."

Garrus took a deep breath. "Have you been sleeping well tonight?"

"I was up until a couple of minutes ago. I had a dream that shook me, but not enough to make me scream out like last night."

Garrus nodded. "Same here," he admitted.

Shepard sighed. "PTSD's a bitch. But… we both knew that going into the military, huh?"

"Yeah. Just…" he buried his face a little more into her, but was careful not to hurt her. "Promise me that if it gets worse, you'll get help. I don't want this to swallow you."

Shepard leaned down to place a kiss on top of his head. "As long as you keep the same promise, then I will." She stopped stroking his fringe and let her hand caress the side of his face. "Come back to bed. It's pretty chilly tonight, and I imagine that you're turian hide is cold."

Garrus had to smile. "Not as cold as it was on Noveria."

That earned a soft chuckle from Shepard. She encouraged him to get up from the chair and the two returned to their bed. Garrus took the large blanket they shared and covered each other with it. Her back leaned into his chest and he placed an arm around her waist, his hand resting on her bare stomach. Shepard took a deep, contented breath as she felt Garrus bury his face at the junction between her shoulder and neck.

As sleep slowly took over, Garrus knew that the negative images and nightmares would continue to come, perhaps for years to come. Still, he took comfort in knowing that, despite everything, he is grateful for the chance to be able to hold the love of his life in his arms.


	3. The Pilot & the AI

One of the mysteries of the Crucible activation at the end of Reaper War that most people wondered about had been this… what happened exactly? The red energy released was designed to destroy anything with Reaper technology. The geth were mostly wiped out due to their upgrades (with only the software downloaded into some of the suits of the quarians surviving). Cerberus had added reaper tech into EDI when setting her up onto the SR2, making her a target as well.

The question was one that was asked the most by the media, militaries, and civilians alike. The only person who could answer it, the one who was there when the Crucible activated, was Commander Shepard.

Unfortunately, Shepard had no memory of anything beyond Anderson's death.

Even so, Shepard still felt that whatever did happen up there, it was her fault that EDI and the geth were affected by the blast. Had there been a way to be able to save them? She had tried all she could to remember, but even now, it's been in vain.

When Shepard was able to speak again after waking up, the Reapers' destruction was explained to her as well as what happened to EDI and the geth. The engineers of the Normandy were doing all they could to bring EDI back online. There were talks about trying to bring the geth back as well, but it was a much harder goal to reach. There were those, mainly politicians, who didn't wish to repeat the past mistakes the quarians made three hundred years ago.

Garrus had told her that Joker came to visit her in the hospital a couple of times while she was still in a coma. Despite knowing this, Shepard felt that she couldn't face him just yet. Even though she had no memory of setting off the Crucible, something deep within told her that she was responsible for EDI's death.

For two months after waking up from a coma, Shepard dreaded the day Joker would come by her room for a visit. During more quiet nights when there was nothing to distract her, she tried to think of what to say to him. At the same time, she tried to figure out how he might reply to her words.

Then, the day came when Joker arrived during visiting hours. Shepard was watching a news report about the recovery efforts around the galaxy. Garrus had left to escort his father and sister to Palaven (his second trip to his homeworld since the relay there reopened a month before). She remembered taking in a quick gasp, not expecting him right then and there. Suddenly, she was sorting a million questions through her head. What do I say? How will he react?

Then, something caught her off guard even more… she certainly did not expect to see a big grin plastered onto his face.

"Hey Commander," Joker said cheerfully. "How are you?"

The first words Shepard managed to blurt out were, "Please tell me that grin of yours is a sign that I'm getting the hell out of here."

"No, but the news is even better." By then, Joker settled down in the chair next to her bed, the one Garrus usually occupied when he was by her side. "It's news from the Normandy as a matter of fact. Wanna to guess what it is?"

Shepard looked up towards the ceiling and raised both of her eyebrows. She hummed as though she was deep in thought for a moment. "Well, they didn't remove your leather seat or else you would be crying."

"Well, that would have happened before the war, but I told the retrofit team that the leather seat was good for my brittle bones."

Shepard stared at Joker. "And did they actually believe that?"

"Of course not, they knew it was bullshit. Luckily, replacing the pilot's seat was low on their priority list. Anyway, I'll give you a few more guesses."

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "I don't like to play guessing games, you know that."

"Hey, I know you hate being here and I'm trying to help pass the time until you really do get out of here."

Shepard sighed at that. "Fair enough. Let's see… Donnelly and Daniels are finally getting married?"

Joker shook her head. "Guess again."

Shepard shook her head. "Unless Tali, Adams, and the rest of the engineers managed to recover EDI, I'm not going to be able to get it right."

She realized what she said and was just beginning to open her mouth to apologize. Then she noticed Joker's grin getting even bigger and his green eyes seemed to beam with joy. She blinked a couple of times, wondering if what she was seeing was just her imagination.

Shepard was flabbergasted once she realized the look on Joker's face was real. "You… you're kidding?"

"I kid about a lot of things," Joker replied. "But I would _never_ joke about something like that."

"But… how did you guys managed to-"

A new voice cut her off and a familiar figure entered the room. "I had a backup drive stored in my quantum blue box just before we arrived in London. After I shut down, I was in the process of repairs. However, the engineers' work on retrieving my data files disrupted my process on numerous occasions, thus why I could not respond until now."

Shepard could only look up in awe as EDI's platform came closer to her bed. Soon, the AI sat on the spare chair next to Joker. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face as she reached over to grasp the human woman's hand.

"Hello, Shepard."

Those two simple words somehow made Commander Shepard cover her face with her free hand and burst into tears for the first time since she could remember.

* * *

With Shepard on medical leave, the Normandy was left without a captain. There was talk over who would take over that role for the time being. Shepard had joked that it was most likely James. "He did express an interest in commanding his own ship."

"Oh, really?" Garrus questioned.

"Then again," Shepard continued. "He said he would when he's, quote, 'Old and can't fight worth shit anymore.'"

"That doesn't surprise me."

Then, the news reported that the Normandy would serve as a diplomatic ship escorting the Council on a galactic tour. Normally, that was a job for the Destiny Ascension, but the famous ship was unfortunately lost during the war. The tour would last for about a year or perhaps longer depending on how much faster the other relays would open up.

The Council included the three Shepard had worked under as a spectre along with the newest human councilor, Dominic Osoba. Shepard had only known him for a short time when he was an Ambassador on the Citadel (replacing Donnel Udina when he became councilor). She had assisted him in finding out the fate of his son Bilal, who had sacrificed himself saving his comrades while fighting Cerberus troops in the colony of Benning.

From what Shepard heard in the news reports and interviews, Osoba knew that going in as the new human councilor was not going to be easy. Not only was he going into the position in the aftermath of a galactic war, but aliens would naturally be wary after Udina's involvement in the Citadel coup. Pretty much every reporter hoped that Osoba would be a much better representation of humanity than his predecessor, but 'only time will tell.'

The Normandy began its tour two weeks ago. The week before the tour, Shepard left the hospital for good to live in the new cabin Garrus bought for them. The place gradually became their own, now filled with more furniture. Garrus had converted the separate garage into his workshop (calibrating their guns of course). There was a small attic window facing the front yard and it was no surprise to Shepard that Garrus had set up a sniper perch there. There was also equipment set up around the living room area for Shepard's twice-a-week physical therapy sessions. Her therapist was an asari who lived in the town for a decade with her human bondmate. At this point, the therapist was the only town citizen Shepard and Garrus had contact with (their 'next-door neighbor' lived a mile away and they haven't even met them yet), so despite Shepard's stubbornness during the sessions, she tried to be as nice as possible with the asari.

Aside from that, the cabin was most definitely ready to welcome guests.

For now, the Normandy was going around Earth to visit the more devastated areas. When it was reported that the Normandy was docked at the port closest to their home, Shepard and Garrus knew exactly what they were going to do that weekend.

"Hello, Shepard," EDI said as soon as the front door opened. Shepard was just about to reply when she noticed a familiar cage in her hands. The little 'squee' that was heard within the box was unmistakable.

"EDI, you brought my hamster here?" Shepard asked, her eyes beaming with happiness at seeing the little guy again.

"Well we couldn't just leave him up in your room while we toured the galaxy without you," Joker explained as he and EDI walked inside the cabin. He then began to chuckle as though he was recalling a memory. "Though the brief time he was on the tour was worth it."

Before Shepard could ask, EDI, who placed the hamster's cage in the middle of the coffee table, explained. "Councilor Tevos was originally assigned to stay in your quarters during the tour. Approximately 2.3 minutes after entering the cabin, she displayed signs of musophobia."

Joker smirked. "EDI has a recording of the moment Tevos saw your hamster. I original said she 'screamed like a banshee,' but EDI told me that the use of that simile was, as she said, 'highly inappropriate given what happened to some of the asari during the war.'"

"I agree with EDI. It's too soon to use that simile, at least when it comes to asari," Shepard said.

"Regardless, would you like to hear the recording?" EDI offered.

"It's not necessary," Shepard answered. "But, had it been Councilor Sparatus instead of Tevos, I would not hesitate to grab a bag of popcorn and settle down to listen in."

Joker laughed at that, not surprised to hear the Commander say that. "Too bad we assigned him to Liara's old cabin instead, huh? Speaking of turians with poles up their ass, where's Garrus?"

Shepard chose to ignore that last statement for now. "He went to pick up dinner for us. He should be back soon."

"Great, I'm starving," Joker said as he sat down on the living room couch. "Heh, if we were back on the Citadel, I would say, 'Hey, why wait when we can just go over to Ryuusei, the best sushi place on the Citadel?' But then I'd be like, 'Oooh yeah, we can't because _somebody broke their floor!_ '"

Shepard shook her head as she carefully sat down on the new armchair, propping her feet up on the ottoman to make herself more comfortable. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you? Besides, it wasn't my fault that happened. You were there, remember?"

One side of Joker's lip curled up, a hint that he was just teasing with his next words. "Well, at the time, I was busy trying to find the crew after you used me as bait."

"I told you when we talked about it that it was just a coincidence. I didn't realize that CAT6 soldier was right behind the table until he yelled out to get your attention."

"Uh huh. Hey, considering that we were in a place surrounded by fish, I'm surprised you didn't try to hook me to a fishing rod and casted me off into the middle of the restaurant to grab their attention."

Shepard turned her head to the AI sitting next to Joker. "EDI, are you going to help defend my innocence here?"

EDI looked at the woman across from her. "I'm sorry, Shepard. I'm finding myself highly amused by your current conversation with Jeff."

Shepard leaned back in her chair in exasperation. "I give up."

At that moment, the front door opened as Garrus entered the cabin with two large bags, one held in each hand. "I see that our guests are here," he said.

"It is good to see you, Garrus," EDI replied.

"Sup, Vakarian?" asked Joker.

Shepard noticed the name of the place Garrus went to on the bag. "I thought you were going to that levo-dextro steakhouse."

"I would've been waiting for three hours for the food to be ready, that's how crowded it was tonight," Garrus explained. "So I went to the market instead. The good news is that there's no cooking required."

"I'm wondering what you picked up now," Shepard said. "Good thing I wasn't all set to eat that fried chicken dinner."

"And I hope you didn't pick up something that's still alive," Joker mentioned. "That freaked me out the last time that happened."

"Well I'm pretty sure that meal is nonexistent here on Earth," Garrus said. "But anyway, I actually got myself some _gaina_ with _slanina_ and a side of corn."

That last one threw Joker off. "Corn? Seriously?"

"It's one of only three human foods I can eat as far as I know," the turian explained. "During my C-Sec days, I tried it on a dare and didn't get sick from it. Also, it turns out that I can get a little nutrition from the sugar, so it's not like I'm eating it for nothing."

"And the other two human foods you can eat?" Joker asked curiously.

"One is honey, which I also tried on a dare, and apples. That was tried by accident when I thought it was _marrias_ , a Palaven fruit with similarities."

"I see. So… if you got yourself that, what did we humans get?"

Garrus' mandibles flared out in a turian grin as he began to retrieve the levo dinner in the other bag. "Something I know that's popular with your species." He managed to get a platter out and set it down on the coffee table.

When they saw what it was, Joker immediately burst into a fit of hysterical laughter as Shepard buried her face in her hands. "Of all the things to bring home…" she mumbled.

Garrus stared at her in confusion. "What? I thought sushi was popular amongst humans?"

Joker managed to catch his breath by that point. "Well, let's just say that, before you walked in, I was bringing our Commander back down memory lane about Ryuusei."

Shepard shook her head as Garrus laughed. "You know, I almost forgot about that."

"I really should kill you for this, Joker," Shepard grumbled.

A few minutes later, after Garrus heated up his food, he joined the others at the coffee table. Shepard and Joker were already digging into their meal using chopsticks. EDI, of course, didn't need to eat so she simply observed both human and turian eating habits.

"So," Garrus began to say. "I hear the Normandy is going to tour the galaxy with the council."

"Yup," Joker replied. "So now instead of fighting a galactic war, we now get to serve as chauffeurs for touring politicians." He shook his head a little. "I don't know which is worse."

"I can assure you that being a part of a galaxy-wide tour is the better option, Jeff," said EDI.

"I know, I know, but I still don't have to like it."

EDI turned her head to the commander. "Shepard, I thought it may interest you to know that your fish are doing well. The VI you installed in the tank will continue to provide them with an adequate supply of food for the next four hundred and three days."

Shepard's eyes widened at that right after swallowing a salmon nigiri. "I… forgot all about them…"

Garrus couldn't help but laugh. "Well that would explain why those poor fish died in the tanks all the time when the ship was under Cerberus."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the turian. "Hey, that happened only one time!"

"It actually happened in a total of two times," EDI reminded her.

"Really?" Garrus asked in surprise. "I swore it was more than that."

Joker suddenly laughed as a thought came to him. "Speaking of which, that reminds me of an old mission..."

"I'm afraid to know where this is going," Shepard mumbled as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger.

Despite her groans, Joker proceeded. "I remember this one time during the SR1 days where we were sent to… I can't remember the planet name, but it was in the Attican Beta cluster. Hackett had asked you to retrieve a data module-"

"The planet was Eletania," Garrus reminded him. "I was on that mission with Shepard and Liara."

Shepard had a feeling she knew where this was going. "Then Garrus already knows the story."

"Yes he does, but EDI doesn't," Joker said. "Anyway, it turned out that the module was stolen by these pyjaks that lived there. So they spent a long time search around trying to figure out which pyjak stole the module. They soon found this little pyjak colony, so they went to investigate, but before Shepard had a chance to stop the Mako, one of the wheels ran over one of the pyjaks."

"Ugh," Shepard groaned. "I knew it…"

"Hey, back then I said that I guessed it had it coming," Garrus mentioned.

"Yes," Joker proceeded. "But then Liara said how this was why humans were aggressive or reckless or something like that."

Shepard stared at the pilot. "It was an accident! She didn't even give me a chance to even say anything before she blurted that out."

"Uh huh. You've been saying that for years, Commander."

"Because it's true!"

"I am sure that the pyjak's demise was instantaneous," EDI tried to assure her.

Garrus laughed. "There are quite a few things I think you'll never live down."

Shepard turned her attention to him. "So we got dead fish and crushed pyjaks. Anything else you would like to add to that?"

Garrus leaned back in his chair, opening up a bottle of dextro beer. "This one is also from the SR1 days. You, Wrex, and I were on Ontarom. After the Alliance picked up Toombs and that scientist, we were exploring the planet for resources. At one point, we had to stop to make a field repair from the damage the Mako took from the fight on the base. You and Wrex were both on lookout while I was making the repairs."

Joker grinned as he remembered what happened in this story, but for EDI's sake (and Shepard's misery), he kept quiet. Garrus proceeded with the story. "I didn't notice it then, but there was this creature that came up behind Wrex. They reminded Shepard of, what were they called… cows?"

"Yeah…" Shepard grumbled.

"So the cow actually took a credit chit from Wrex. Not long after, Wrex noticed that his chit was gone. At the time, the two of us were still getting used to each other since our species were naturally enemies. Of course, he started to accuse me of stealing his chit. I was defending myself when we both happened to turn to Shepard just in time to see the cow steal her credit chit. She didn't even notice it happening. Wrex and I just stood there in silence for a few seconds before we both burst out laughing at the same time."

"And thus the event became known as, 'The Shifty-Looking Cow Incident,' as Wrex called it," Joker finished.

Shepard shook her head at that. "I have to say, seeing the two of you laughing your asses off was pretty scary at the time."

EDI spoke up. "Shepard, 'laughing your asses off' is physically impossible."

Joker cut in. "EDI, it's a figure of speech. It just means that they were hysterically laughing, like I was before when Garrus pulled out the sushi platter."

"Oh, I see."

A half hour later, dinner was finished with the three organics in the room having their own bottle of beer. A question lingered in Joker's mind and he dared himself to ask. "So… do you two miss being on the Normandy?"

That got a small frown from Shepard. "Well… I do miss traveling. I also miss being in the moment of the fight and the adrenaline feel I got from it. I definitely _do not_ miss being in a galaxy-wide war."

"Here, here," Joker agreed. "What about you, big guy?"

"I feel the same way," Garrus answered. "And I admit… it's nice to not dodge from a bullet every single day. Now I just dodge from nosy reporters whenever I travel to Toronto to help out at the turian camp up there."

"Are you considering retirement?" EDI questioned.

There was a bit of silence for a few seconds and Joker noticed the couple turning to look at each other for just a moment. Then, Shepard answered. "I think, for now, we're… trying out the civilian life, testing the waters. I guess it's best to try it while my legs aren't working right at the moment."

"I know it's a pain in the ass limping when you walk," Joker commented. "I had to do it my whole life." He shrugged. "Then again, I'm used to it. You've always been stubborn, Shepard. You'll get through it, I know you will."

Shepard smiled. "Thanks for the confident boost."

"Anytime." Joker then looked at their surroundings. "You know, you guys got a really nice place. Really old, but nice." He then looked at Garrus. "Hey, if I remember correctly, it gets really cold here. Don't turians, like, hate that or something?"

"Yes it does and yes we do," Garrus replied.

"We did talk about living somewhere warm and tropical," Shepard mentioned. "But, well… we're pretty sure the press won't think to find the great Commander Shepard and her turian lover way out here."

"Gee, that sounds dirty and clinical when you say it like that," Joker said. Shepard laughed at that while Garrus fluttered his mandibles as though he was suddenly embarrassed. Joker noticed it, but he decided that it was best not to ask them what that was about.

"If you change your mind," EDI began to say. "May I suggest the asari colony, Nevos. The climate there is known to be pleasantly warm and it is famous for its sandy beaches and romantic twin moons.

"We'll keep that in mind, thank you EDI," Shepard said.

Later, the four of them watched a comedy movie that EDI had recommended before calling it a night. Joker and EDI had the honor to be the first to spend the night in the guest room.

* * *

The sound of chirping birds woke Joker up from his sleep. A groan escaped his throat as he carefully stretched his limbs, rubbing a tired eye with the back of his hand.

"EDI?" Joker called out.

"Good morning, Jeff," the AI greeted from the desk chair in the room. Because she didn't need sleep, EDI would usually spend the night looking through extranet sites or playing games that she had downloaded into her system. Sometimes, her platform would lie next to Joker. Other times, she would be in the co-pilot seat or the AI Core if they were back on the Normandy. And then there would times, like, now, where she would choose to sit in a comfortable spot.

"Did you sleep well?" EDI asked as Joker sat up.

"Better than usual," the pilot admitted. "What time is it?"

"It is seven thirty-three am. We have another two hours and twenty-seven minutes before we need to return to the Normandy."

"I know," Joker said with a yawn. He carefully got himself out of bed and began to get dressed. "Do you know if Shepard and Garrus are up?"

"I sensed movement from outside the bedroom a few minutes ago. I believe at least one of them is awake."

"I guess I'll find out soon enough."

After a few minutes in the bathroom, Joker began to make his way down the hallway and towards the kitchen. He figured that at least one person was up because he could smell freshly grinded coffee in the air. Hopefully, it was the levo kind because he really could use some right now.

Just as he was reaching the corner, he suddenly heard Shepard yell out. "Ow! Watch the hip." For some reason, that made Joker stop in his tracks.

That's when he heard Garrus. "It's not my fault you humans lack the plates we turians have."

' _Well, looks like they're both up,_ ' Joker thought.

He heard Shepard laugh and Joker suddenly stiffened. It was the kind of laugh that one would normally hear in the bedroom, at least that's what he gathered from watching porn vids. "We're a lot more durable than we look."

"That you are," Garrus replied.

' _Uh…_ '

"Now move your tush, Vakarian, I need to stretch out my leg."

"How many names do you humans have for our rear ends?"

"A lot."

There was a shuffling noise coming from the living room. Then, a moment of silence followed and Joker was just about to step forward again when he heard Garrus rumble. "You're so soft."

That sultry laugh from Shepard was heard again. "Don't try to distract me."

"Who said I was distracting you?"

That same shuffling noise was heard again as though one of them was trying to adjust themselves. A second after that, Shepard spoke. "You know, I've always been impressed by your reach."

Garrus chuckled this time. "Well, with your flexibility, I'm impressed with how you, um… um… ended up the way you are now."

"That's all you can up with?"

"My, eh, kava hasn't kicked in yet."

"Excuses, excuses." Then, Shepard's voice when low with what sounded like lust. "If you're still feeling sleepy… maybe I can help you with that, big guy."

That last quote confirmed Joker's suspicions. ' _Why are they doing_ that _now instead of waiting for EDI and I to leave? What the shit!_ '

Joker tried to back away as quietly as possibly, but he only managed to get two feet before he heard Garrus. "Joker, is that you out there?"

' _Shit…_ ' He forgot that turians had good hearing compared to humans. Well, no use in hiding now.

"Uh, yeah, it's me."

"There's coffee in the kitchen if you want some," called out Shepard. "I even made it the way you like it. It should still be warm."

"Um, appreciate it." Joker closed his eyes and made a beeline for the kitchen. At least now, his back was turned towards the two.

Just as he reached the counter, he heard something rub against leather-like material, making it sound like a raspberry. Joker turned around on instinct, only realizing a split second later what he was doing. His eyes widened at the sight in front of them.

Shepard was balancing herself on two hands and one leg with the other limb stretched out in front of her. Garrus sat on her right as he helped her stretch out the leg. Both of them sat on top of a blue

"Good lord, I hate it when my move and my bare feet end up making that noise against the mat," Shepard grumbled. "Remind me to ask the therapist to get one with different materials."

"If that's possible," Garrus replied. "Well, I think we're done with your exercises for now."

Joker was sure that he went pale upon realizing that all that shuffling and talking was nothing more than them doing exercises for Shepard's benefit. ' _I soooo need my coffee, like, now._ '

Garrus got on his feet before helping Shepard up. She struggled a little as she pulled, but was soon standing. Garrus began to head over to the kitchen to retrieve a cup of coffee for Shepard while she settled down onto the couch in the living room.

"So you guys always do that in the morning?" Joker asked.

"It's part of her physical therapy," Garrus explained. "What we were just doing helps with stretching and coordination in her legs. We try it for about ten minutes in the morning. It helps a bit with preparing her muscles for the rest of the day."

"I… see," was all Joker got out before he took a big gulp of his drink.

Before they realized it, it was time to say goodbye. EDI mentioned that they would remain on Earth for a few more days before they began to head over to some of the nearby human colonies. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged before Joker and EDI got into their rented skycar and made their departure.

Garrus closed the front door behind them before turning to Shepard, who left a little space between them. She started to laugh, but before Garrus could ask what it was about, she explained herself. "How much do you want to bet Joker had heard some of our talk and thought we were… you know…"

Garrus chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. "Well. It _might_ have been true if he showed up a couple of minutes later."

Shepard gave him a faux shocked look. "You know that this is only for my physical therapy."

"I know, but…" His voice went into a low pitch that he knew drove her crazy. "I can't help but think how much I want you when you're that close."

He felt a slight shiver run through her and he grinned in satisfaction before leaning forward to nip lightly at her neck. "You know… I bet some 'reach and flexibility' in bed would be a nice therapy right about now, if you're up to it."

Shepard snorted at that. "You're so corny when you try to talk sexy."

Garrus grinned, knowing that she was only teasing him. "That's why you love me."

Shepard couldn't help but smile. "Very true."


	4. Doubts & Frustration

The day started out nice. There wasn't a single cloud in the skies above the small town where the Shepard-Vakarian home was located. Weather reports promised that the skies of Toronto would also be the same and will remain so for the entire weekend.

It was perfect. Garrus and Shepard had planned to spend the entire weekend in Toronto. Garrus himself had been there a few times to help out at the turian refugee camp, but this will be Shepard's first time there in five weeks since leaving the hospital.

Garrus knew that getting Shepard out of their small town would do her good. For the last two weeks after Joker and EDI's visit, she was feeling a tad bit jealous that they got the opportunity to travel the galaxy (then again, they were stuck with chauffeuring the Councilors around).

The only downfall to Shepard about going to Toronto was that she had a doctor's appointment. As a matter of fact, she was supposed to be visiting one last week, but Shepard had refused to see anyone but Dr. Chakwas. Dr. Chakwas ended up being assigned back to the Normandy to travel with the Councilors. Shepard didn't blame her for taking the offer. Dr. Chakwas always preferred life on a ship compared to being groundside. The only other doctor Shepard may have considered seeing was Dr. Michel, but the last she heard, the younger doctor was all the way in Geneva helping out with the recovery efforts there.

As a compromise, Dr. Chakwas recommended a colleague of hers who had opened up a new clinic in Toronto a few weeks after the war ended. Shepard still preferred to see Chakwas, but Garrus insisted that she should at least give this doctor a chance. Shepard eventually accepted but only because she was a friend of Chakwas.

The appointment was for noon. So she and Garrus packed their bags the night before and headed out the next morning in their skycar. They also took food and clothing donations collected by the human owner of the local market. He had asked Garrus to take them up to Toronto once he heard that the turian was making a trip up there two days ago.

The travel was as long as Shepard remembered it. Most of it was spent with her and Garrus in a comfortable silence, the car's stereo playing a mix of both human and turian music that was downloaded into the system.

At one point, Garrus raised a brow ridge at a particular lyric in an old human song that was playing at the moment. "Um, did my translator just glitch or did the singer actually mention throwing a speed ball? Because last I checked, a speed ball was a human drug."

Shepard shook her head, but chuckled a little. "You're hearing it right. And actually, it was originally a term for a fast ball in a human game called baseball. People have misinterpreted it back then, and it seems like now they're getting it wrong two hundred years later."

"So in that case, why not call it a fast ball instead?" Garrus questioned.

"Because, well, why not? It might be an old term even for those times, but it's not the singer's fault that people misinterpret it. And let's stop talking about it. You're going ruin the song for me."

Garrus laughed and decided to drop it.

Soon, they arrived in Toronto after fighting with traffic (even with skycars, traffic was still an issue in city areas, especially after the war). Shepard had a half hour to spare before her appointment, so Garrus decided to drop her off at the clinic. He offered to help her out, but Shepard insisted on getting out of the car on her own. It took a minute, but Shepard let out a little victory yell once she managed to stand on her feet.

Garrus smiled at her little cheer. Indeed she was in a good mood.

"Send me a message when you're done," Garrus said to her.

"Hopefully it won't take long," Shepard replied. "I'll see you in a little bit."

With that, she closed the car door. Garrus stayed long enough to make sure she got inside before taking off to head to the turian camp.

Shepard made it to the front desk after a few minutes of her slow walk, taking a deep breath while trying to be calm about it. There were a few other patients waiting for their appointments. Shepard was aware of a few of them staring, most likely recognizing her. She thought about pulling her hood over her head to conceal her face, but quickly decided against it. The patients have already seen her face anyway at this point.

A she expected, the nurse at the front desk gave her some forms to fill out. ' _Always the fun part,_ ' she thought to herself as she sat down at the closest empty chair she found.

Fifteen minutes of filling out forms and an additional twenty minute wait later, the doctor was ready to see her. The usual quick exams came along which included taking her blood pressure, temperature, and recording her weight and height. Then, the nurse escorted her into an exam room and said that the doctor would be with her shortly.

Another ten minutes went by. Then, she heard a soft knock at the door before it opened. A middle-aged woman with gray hair tied back in a low bun entered the room, a warm smile coming over her face upon seeing her patient.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Hinato," she greeted cheerfully. She extended her arm out in hopes of shaking her hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Commander. Dr. Chakwas told me so much about you."

Shepard reached out to shake her head. "I'm sure most of it involved how much of a pain in the ass I can be when I'm a patient." She said this with a friendly grin.

Dr. Hinato chuckled. "Well, she did warn me about that. But she also told me how much of a good friend you've been to her."

"She's been with me from day one," Shepard mentioned.

"I hope I'm not taking offense by, um, replacing her, Commander."

Shepard waved a hand. "No offense at all. And please, call me Shepard."

"Of course, Commander, um, sorry, Shepard." Dr. Hinato soon activated her omni-tool. "Now, let's get down to it. I'll be doing a quick scan to see where you are at. Dr. Chakwas also has sent me your medical records from both your time on the Normandy and your time at the hospital after the war."

"So I assume she told you about my… upgrades."

"She did," the doctor confirmed. "Very extensive work from what she told me."

"They didn't come cheap, that's for sure."

A small beep was heard, indicating to the doctor that the scan was complete. "Let's see… it looks like your body is accepting the bolts and rods in your hips and legs. Has there been any improvement with walking since you left the hospital?"

Shepard frowned a little. "Not really. I mean, I walked less in the beginning only because I just got out of the hospital, but I get around a little more now. If we're talking about speed, or how long I can stand, again, not really."

"I see," Dr. Hinato continued. "Also, it looks like those upgrades you've mentioned are doing well on your upper body. From your records, the upgrades in your legs were the ones that shut down."

Shepard nodded. "Yes. The… original records involving my upgrades have been lost after the war. I still have contact with the person who oversaw my… procedure, and she tried what she could to restore what was damaged. She's no longer associated with those who gave her the funding, so she wasn't able to fix everything."

"That's a shame."

Shepard felt herself twitch a little at that comment, but she reminded herself that she didn't give the doctor the name of that 'association.' She also guessed that Dr. Chakwas didn't mention about Cerberus to her either.

"Something tells me it's for the best," Shepard said in reply.

There was another fifteen minutes of routine exams with the doctor asking more questions. To keep up with conversation, Shepard dared herself to ask if Dr. Hinato still had family after the way. She was happy to hear that her younger sister and her family survived. They had lived on Terra Nova and managed to get on the escape shuttles just as the Reapers hit. The family had returned to Terra Nova only a couple of months ago. Dr. Hinato had a husband, but he passed away from illness long before the war.

Once the exams were done, Dr. Hinato shut off her omni-tool after taking a few notes. "You're recovery is a slow one of course, but you are doing much better. Your scars are still healing, but most of them will fade with time."

Shepard grinned. "And maybe once I can get these legs working again, I could go back to being a soldier and add more scars to my collection."

It was meant as a joke, but Shepard didn't miss the falter in Dr. Hinato's warm smile. She knew that the doctor wanted to say something in reply, so she folded her arms in front of her. "Is there anything else that needs to be mentioned?" she asked flatly.

"There is," Dr. Hinato said. The warm smile that had been on her face throughout the whole exam was now gone. Shepard knew she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. Even so, it was best to get it over it now than to hear it later.

"As you know, your recovery was and still is a long one," Dr. Hinato proceeded. "The bolts and rods are doing their job and it's possible that with further surgery, there will be improvement. However, not all surgery outcomes are what we expect."

Shepard squeezed her own arm a little, feeling dread coming over her. "Are you saying that I might not be able to walk right again?"

She could tell Dr. Hinato was a bit taken aback by her bluntness by the way her dark eyes widened a little. The truth was that Shepard didn't like jumping around the subject and preferring to get to the point. She was pretty sure that Dr. Chakwas didn't tell her colleague that part.

"I'm not saying there's no hope," Dr. Hinato continued. "But you don't want to set yourself up for disappointment, either. Each case similar to yours has different results. Sometimes, the body will recover completely and is able to adjust to the bolts and rods like it was a part of who the person is physically, like they were born with it. Others, however, don't always see that result. In the end, it depends on how your body adjusts in the aftermath of a traumatic injury. You also need to take into account that you took a lot of damage; broken bones, third degree burns, lacerations… some that were infected when you were found… they said it was a miracle when you were found alive."

… _Multiple bone dislocations and fractures in the legs and hips, five broken ribs, third degree burns on 45% of her body, mostly on her left side, and lacerations with infection trying to make its way in._

The doctors at the hospital also said it was a miracle… Shepard personally called it, 'pretty damn lucky.'

"But… even if you do full recover in the end," the doctor continued. "There's a possibility that it would take years for it to happen."

As Dr. Hinato spoke, Shepard was slowly standing herself up, using the exam table for support. She was on her feet by the time the doctor was done. "So… even if I bust my ass in physical therapy…"

"There will be improvements," Dr. Hinato reminded her. "But again, it all depends on how your body adjusts to it."

Shepard sighed, her face remaining neutral. "Thank you, but I think that will be all."

Dr. Hinato frowned as she nodded. "If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call me."

"Sure."

Shepard then left the exam room and made her way out of the clinic as quickly as her legs could take her, placing her hood over her head the minute she stepped outside. She didn't stop walking until she felt the muscles in her legs protest from all the strain it was no longer used to only a year ago. There was a park not too far from her and she headed there. The park still contained debris and fallen trees from the war, but she didn't care how it looked at the moment. At least she would be away from the streets.

It didn't take long for her to find an empty bench to sit down, her legs and hips feeling relieved once the pressure was taken off. She took a deep breath for a moment before activating her omni-tool to send a message;

_13:54 – Shepard: I'm sitting at the park one block east from the clinic._

She received a reply not long after.

_13:57 – Vakarian: I'm just finishing up here. I'll be over in a few minutes. There's a levo-dextro restaurant on the other side of town if you're hungry._

_13:58 – Shepard: That sounds good. Hopefully they have some good sandwiches. I'll see you soon._

Figuring that Garrus wasn't going to reply to her last message, she closed her omni-tool. She then leaned back a little against the bench and let herself relax, forcing herself to not think about what she was told at the clinic today. Feeling a bit tired, she decided to briefly close her eyes until Garrus got here.

Five minutes later, it turned out that closing her eyes was a mistake.

She suddenly heard footsteps close to her and she ended up jolting out of instinct. Before she had the chance to comprehend what was going on, a news reporter was suddenly right up in her face with her camera man just behind her.

"Commander Shepard!" the reporter called. "Kimberly Tanner, XLSixteen News."

' _Great…_ ' Shepard thought. She heard of them before… they were a 'news source' that was well known to be more interested in 'confirming' gossips and rumors rather than, say, being concerned about the aftermath of a galactic war.

She took a deep breath before speaking. "Look, if you're here for an interview-"

Tanner cut her off quickly. "The galaxy thought you disappeared, yet, here you are sitting her at the park _admiring_ the view."

Already, Shepard felt the urge to punch her. That's a new record, she realized.

"Is there any reason for disappearing right after the end of the Reaper War?"

Shepard shook her heard. She also noticed a small crowd that started to gather nearby, hopefully out of simple curiosity. "Look, I was in the hospital for eight months-"

"And then what happened afterwards?" Tanner pressed. "Do you feel that now that you've done your job that you think that its 'unnecessary' for you to be further involved with helping the galaxy?"

Shepard found herself taken aback by those words. The urge to punch her was even fiercer, but she realized that's what this kind of 'news source' wanted to see. If only she could get out of here… but her legs, unfortunately, wouldn't carry her far enough. For the first time since waking up at the hospital, she felt trapped.

Still, she took a deep breath before speaking again. "Let me answer that with a couple of questions. What are you doing about the recovery efforts? What is XLSixteen doing about it? Clearly, the money that could be spent on helping refugees is instead being used to pay 'reporters' like you to deliver cheap gossip with poorly asked questions to the public."

She tried not to smirk in satisfaction as Tanner's jaw dropped open in shock by the question. She quickly regained herself before opening her mouth again. "But the people are aware of what's going on. We can only remind them so much. They need to know what else is happening in the galaxy."

"But not everyone watches other news sources like the Alliance New Network," Shepard pointed out. "I'm sure you have viewers who only watch your show and the best thing you can do for them is let them know what's going on here on Earth. Get them more aware of how things look as we try to get ourselves back together."

She could tell that Tanner was getting even more annoyed with her by the way she pressed her lips into a thin line. "Is this what we can expect from you from this point on, Commander?" the reporter pressed after a few seconds of silence. "Do you still think you have the right to command the people over what they can do while you sit here _admiring_ the view in front of you?"

That was enough.

"This is over," Shepard said while standing up. Unfortunately, her legs only got her two feet (which she expected, but damn if she didn't at least try) before Tanner and the camera man got in her face again.

"Is sitting here your way of 'honoring' the billions who lost their lives in this war? What about those who died in the Bahak system _before_ the war?"

"Get away from her!" a voice yelled out. Shepard let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, thankful to finally hear Garrus' voice. It didn't take long before he put himself between Shepard and the camera.

"Sir, we're in the middle of an interview," Tanner said trying to act casual.

"The hell you are!" Garrus growled. "I assume that intruding and harassing people is your way of getting what you want?"

"I-"

Garrus got into Tanner's face then. "Enough! When's Shepard's ready for an interview, she'll let you know, though I'm sure it won't be with you."

He then proceeded to confiscate the camera, which unfortunately only worked by offering money. By then, Shepard had made her way to the skycar, wanting nothing more than to get away from the scene. She was settled in the car by the time Garrus got into the driver's seat.

"Next time we're flying, remind me to make sure to space this thing," he said as he put the now-broken camera into the back of the car. He then drove off in hopes that no one attempted to get a picture of them as they left.

Shepard casted her eyes down. "I never thought I'd see the day when I realize how much I miss Al-Jilani's 'friendly' nature…"

A sigh escaped Garrus as he took Shepard's hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

Shepard shook her head before whispering her next words. "It's not your fault… I was caught off guard. Though I'm sure if I tried to get away again, I would've barely made it three feet before they caught up with me."

"Shepard…"

"Can we… get our food to-go and just… go home? I… don't want to be here anymore."

Garrus released another breath. To think that they were both in high spirits just this morning and now it's all gone to hell. He couldn't even begin to think about what happened at the clinic, but he had to guess that it wasn't good. In the past, she never let the reporters get to her like this, but it was obvious that more happened besides being harassed by news people.

The turian gently squeezed her hand. "Okay."

They left Toronto after picking up their lunch. Shepard got herself a pastrami sandwich on a roll with mustard, but she barely ate the first half of her sandwich before wrapping it up and putting it back in the carry-out bag.

There was nothing but silence for the rest of the ride. Even the music was turned off, and Garrus suddenly wished he was listening to those bad human lyrics from that system if only to ease the tension that hung in the air.

The sun was just setting by the time they got home. Garrus tried to help Shepard get back to the house once he parked the skycar on the driveway.

"I don't need to hold someone's hand every time I have to get up," she said flatly.

That pretty much confirmed his suspicion that something did happen at the clinic today. However, he decided not to press the matter at the moment. He can only watch as she got out of the car and made her way up the porch stairs.

When she reached the door, Garrus sighed. What would've normally taken less than minute… just simply getting out of the car to get to the house… ended up taking five minutes for Shepard by herself. He figured weeks ago that the possibility of living like this for the rest of her life might eventually take a toll on Shepard. He was just hoping that it didn't happen so soon after leaving the hospital.

The house was quiet for the remainder of the night…

* * *

_Three Days Later..._

Every Monday morning, Garrus would work on cleaning, fixing, and calibrating whatever he could get his hands on. He would always start his work around the time Shepard's physical therapist came over for their two-hour session. The routine was the same on Thursdays as well.

Today, Garrus worked on adding upgrades to the M-98 Widow sniper rifle that he owned and the Black Widow that belonged to Shepard. Back when the Normandy SR2 was a Cerberus vessel, Shepard purchased them both (with Cerberus' money, might to her amusement) with the M-98 being a gift to him during shore leave.

On that same shore leave however, Shepard got bold (which shouldn't surprise him) when she decided to try out the M-98 at the shooting range. The weapon was known to have such a kick that it would shatter human bones. Shepard figured that she could withstand the punishment due to her cybernetic implants courtesy of Cerberus.

The recoil ended up dislocating her right shoulder.

Garrus had helped her with pulling her shoulder back in its socket and placing some medigel on it. Dr. Chakwas also put her out of commission for a few days to give her shoulder a chance to heal. Despite recovering, Shepard was left with a kink in her shoulder that she always had the urge to stretch out. She also never touched the M-98 again and stayed with the Black Widow.

As he added the upgrades, Garrus heard footsteps just outside the open garage door. The steady steps told him that it wasn't Shepard who was approaching since hers were more like shuffles these days. He turned around and soon saw Shepard's physical therapist, Cyrena Linard. She was one of the town locals who lived here for about ten years with her human bondmate. Shepard wasn't the most patient person in the world, but she actually liked Cyrena enough to cooperate. However, the turian had a feeling that today was different if the weariness on the asari's face was anything to go by.

"Hi Garrus," Cyrena greeted him. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment."

Garrus nodded. "What can I do for you?"

Cyrena let out a slow breath as she folded her arms in front of her. "I know I'm just her physical therapist, but I couldn't help but be concerned for her. She was impatient during our session today."

"This past weekend wasn't… the best," Garrus said.

"I heard about XLSixteen station ambushing her," Cyrena admitted. "I don't know if you know, but witnesses reported what happened. The station's president actually suspended that reporter without pay. To be honest, I think it really stems from the mention of the Bahak system on a human gossip show and getting a few threatening calls from the Batarians once they heard about it."

He wished he could buy those witnesses who reported Tanner a round of drinks for helping out.

"Still, that's good to know, thanks," Garrus replied. "Shepard and I chose to avoid watching TV and looking at any news sites since it happened, at least for a couple of weeks."

"I don't blame you. Anyway, I did try to bring that up to her, but she shrugged it off like it was nothing. Honestly, I think she's still hurt over what happened."

"Normally it wouldn't," Garrus admitted. "But a few minutes before the reporter came along, she had left a medical clinic after being told not to get her hopes up about fully recovering."

Cyrena frowned. "I'm trying what I can to help her. The least I can do is ease discomfort as much as possible. I'd like to try to see if I can get her to walk for as long as possible before her legs and hips protest against the pain. For now, I'm trying to get her to focus on getting her muscles used to movement again."

"We appreciate any help from you," Garrus said and began resuming his work on the rifle upgrades.

However, he noticed the asari still standing there as though she wanted to say more. He turned back to her. "Did you need anything else?"

"Well, I had an idea," Cyrena said. "You two have been here for over a month. We see you around town a bit, but no one else has really seen Shepard all that much."

"Walking around town is difficult for her, though she's tried," Garrus said. He thought about the last sentence the therapist said. "But to be honest, I don't think Shepard's ready for any kind of group gathering."

"Oh no, that's not what I was thinking," Cyrena said. "But I would like you two to come over for dinner at my house on Friday night. My husband Jason would love to meet you two. And I think it would be good for Shepard to get out of the house for something that's not errands."

The truth was that Shepard didn't go out as much, especially in the last couple of weeks. She did do some shopping in town when they first came here, but now she's mostly sticking with ordering items from the extranet.

"I'll talk to her about it," Garrus replied. "We'll let you know our decision by Thursday."

Cyrena smiled. "Great! And if you both do come, don't worry about me trying to figure out dextro meals. My father was a turian so I learned how to cook turian cuisines a long time ago."

"Good to know. See you Thursday."

With a wave, Cyrena headed towards her car and soon left. Garrus had already started focusing on those rifle upgrades.

An hour later, Garrus decided to take a break and began heading back to the house. Upon entering, he didn't see Shepard around and figured she might either been taking a bath or watching a vid in the bedroom. He headed over to their shared room.

He was right about Shepard being in the bedroom, but instead of watching a vid, she sat at one of the two chairs facing the large lake behind their house. Garrus went over to her side and soon saw the distant look in her eyes. His mandibles flicked a little against his face, feeling a little anxious suddenly. Clearly she had a lot on her mind. He can only hope that she wasn't experiencing a flashback from the war.

Garrus leaned down to press his forehead against hers. He noticed her blinking rapidly a couple of times before she turned her attention to him.

"Hey," she whispered. "I didn't hear you come in."

Garrus quietly chuckled. "Guess I'm much stealthier than I thought."

"No, I'm just… tired."

He knew it was more than that, but he decided to not press the issue right away. He pulled back from her before settling himself down on the other chair next to her. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"I haven't slept well this whole weekend," Shepard admitted. "I don't know if it's stress from what happened or what."

"I might be," Garrus guessed.

"I saw Cyrena talking you earlier. I guess she brought up how irritated I've been with her today."

"She was actually worried about you. She heard what happened on Friday."

Shepard let out a small puff that closely resembled a humorless laugh. "I'm sure the entire galaxy knows."

"If it makes you feel better, the station suspended that reporter."

"Good."

"Cyrena also mentioned wanting the both of us to come over for dinner this Friday."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "And was there a reason she didn't ask me directly?"

"Probably because she felt it wasn't the right time to ask you given how you've been feeling today, so she asked me instead."

"Well… either way, we're not going."

Garrus turned his head to her, not expecting that kind of answer so quickly. "Why not?"

"I don't need a reason. I see Cyrena twice a week, that's good enough."

"Her husband wants to meet you."

"So does the rest of the galaxy."

Garrus took a deep breath as he started to feel his patience starting to wear down. "Everyone in this town knows we live here. Cyrena said it herself. She just wants us to mingle with them."

"Sure, it'll be nice, at least until one of them accepts the large chunk of money waved in their faces by people like Tanner for information leading to our location."

Garrus tapped a gloved finger on the armrest of his chair. "At this point, that's not going to happen. If they had those kinds of intentions, the reporters would've knocked our door off its hinges by now."

He saw Shepard clench a fist in frustration. "It didn't stop them in Toronto. I'm sure someone at the clinic reported my whereabouts with the stares I got there. Who's to say someone around here won't give into that temptation eventually?"

Garrus shook his head. "Listen… its fine if you don't want to accept that dinner invitation, but I'm also not letting you become a recluse just because someone here _might_ give away our location."

Shepard turned her head to him, anger suddenly flashing through her eyes. "Who says I'm becoming a recluse? I don't know if you've noticed, but I can't exactly walk around town very much!"

"I know that, but we might be living here for a while and I thought maybe meeting some of the people who live here might be nice. We already know Cyrena and I thought accepting her dinner invitation would be a good start."

"Cyrena's a good physical therapist and I like working with her," Shepard said. "That's good enough for me. She'll help me start walking like a normal person again."

Garrus growled in frustration. "And what if doesn't work out like that? What if there is no improvement and you do walk like this for the rest of your life?"

The anger in her eyes was still there, but now he was seeing her lips in a tight, thin line. It was a sign that she was on the verge of screaming out, but was doing everything she can to hold it back. It was also a sign that Garrus knew he crossed a line.

' _Damn it,_ ' he thought, feeling mad at himself for letting this conversation go in this direction.

Shepard buried her face into her hands. "Get out," she growled through clenched teeth. "Just… get out."

Garrus wanted to argue against being pushed, but he quickly realized by this point, any attempt to soothe things over would end up in a shouting match. So with a grunt, he got up and left the room, closing the door behind him with a little more force than he intended.

That night, he tried to talk again, but the result was the same as before. He ended up sleeping in the guest room that night.

* * *

_The next day…_

After eating breakfast and getting updates about the mass relays from Primarch Victus, Garrus went outside to see what he can fix up today. Since he had already did some work on their rifles, he decided to go see how he can improve the functionality of the skycar.

Garrus ended up losing track of time and barely took any breaks as he focused on improving the engine, cleaning any muck and dirty he found, and double checked the fluids the car required to keep it running.

The sun was just beginning to set by the time he decided to call it a day. He wiped his hands with a rag before placing the equipment he was using back into the toolbox. He then started to head to the garage to put the box away when he noticed movement at the corner of his eye on his right. He only turned his head in time to see Shepard standing on the porch before continuing his way into the garage.

Garrus placed the box back on the wooden shelf that was built within the garage's wall, most likely constructed by a previous owner some years ago. He then turned back and pressed the button to close the garage door on his way out.

As he headed back to the house, he saw that Shepard was in the process of going down the porch steps. He was about to ask her what she was doing, but instead, he found his heart leaping into his throat as Shepard suddenly tumbled forward. Her foot ended up too far off on her step down, causing her to slip and fall. She then felt the wind knocked out of her as she landed hard on her back.

"Shepard!" he called out as he sprinted towards her. When he reached her, he bended down and saw the stunned look on her face as she stared up at the sky. He started to extend his arms to her. "Are you-"

"Don't!" she yelled out suddenly, cutting him off. "Don't help… let me do it myself."

Once more, Garrus found that he wanted to protest, but before he had the chance to say anything, Shepard started to sit herself up. That part was always easier for her. She would place the palm of her hands flat down on either side of her against the surface and use her upper weight to push herself up.

It was the second part that was always hard, even when she was simply trying to get up from bed. Usually, she would use her arms to force her legs to swing over the bed to make the process easier. Then, she would support herself on the nightstand to stand up.

This time, however, it was going to take more than just her arms to get up from the ground. Worse, anything that would help pull her up, including the stairs, were out of her reach. Garrus had offered his hand to help her up, but she completely ignored him as she tried to use her legs to get back on her feet. However, as she put weight on her legs, she let out a small cry of pain and landed back down in a sitting position. Whether the pain was from her injuries or her recent fall, Garrus wasn't sure. Either way, the scene before him bothered him greatly, especially since she wouldn't let him make the situation better for her.

"Shepard, let me help, please…" he quietly begged.

Shepard quickly shook her head. "Don't! I'm not helpless! I'm not useless! I'm not-"

Her voice suddenly cracked as she slumped forward and buried her face into her hands. The dam was holding in everything these last few days was now starting to break.

Despite knowing that he wouldn't hear the end of it later, Garrus reached out and scooped her into his arms before straightening himself back onto his feet. He then walked up to the house and went inside.

The moment the door closed, he felt Shepard bury her face into his neck, muffling a wail that emerged from her throat. He walked over to the couch and carefully sat down, still keeping Shepard in his arms. Once settled, the turian shifted his arms so that he could hold his human closer to him, letting her release her anger, doubts, frustration, and whatever else she was bottling up since she left the clinic… or the hospital she stayed in for eight months, he wasn't sure at this point. Garrus said nothing and offered comfort by gently rubbing her back with one hand to remind her that he was here.

When her sobs finally subsided, the room had darkened a bit from the lack of sunlight. Shepard soon pulled back, her reddened cheeks still streaked with tears, her eyes red, and her breath hitching as she tried to calm herself down.

Garrus wiped the tears that remained on her face. "Talk to me," he whispered, cupping her chin between his thumb and index finger before pushing up a little so that she looked at him. Talking… it was something they should have done over the weekend after what happened in Toronto, but at the same time, he wondered if pushing her to talk then would have made things worse. It didn't matter now.

Shepard closed her eyes, taking in a deep inhale before opening them again, looking down. "I feel… useless."

"You're not useless."

Shepard barely shook her head. "I should be out there helping the galaxy put itself back together-"

"Stop right there," Garrus said firmly, tracing a finger over her lips. "You're the one who lead us all to fight against the Reapers and won." His finger then moved to trace the outline of her jaw. "The best thing you can do now is to take it easy and let us do the rest. You've earned it."

"… Even at such a high cost?"

Garrus sighed, knowing that she meant the Geth. "I know… but once they joined us, they were willing to lay down their existence as much as us organics. You once told me that EDI would fight to the death, remember?"

"Yeah… but it still doesn't make it easy. It's even worse when you can't remember what happened up there."

"I know it doesn't, but the Quarians are doing all they can to bring them back. Some of their software survived the blast, and it's going to help. Not all is lost."

Shepard snorted a little with barely any humor. "Yeah… except maybe the use of my legs."

Garrus took a deep breath. "Even if you don't walk normally again, that still doesn't make you useless. I mean, look at how nice you made the cabin the last few weeks."

That got a dry chuckle out of her as she slowly lifted her head to take in their surroundings. "Well… I guess I'm flattered… I don't think anything really matches around here."

"No, but you worked hard at it," Garrus reminded her.

"And it's only just decorating. That's so small compared to helping with, say, clearing out rubble on the streets."

"So what? The point that I'm trying to make is that you're not just sitting around doing nothing at all."

Garrus then had a small suspicion over where Shepard was getting this 'I'm-useless' idea from and decided to confront her about it. "And if it has anything to do with that reporter, don't listen to them. They can guess and speculate and ignore the fact that you've been injured all they want. If they can't see that you've done the biggest job in the war, they're idiots. You and I both know that they're just trying to get a rise out of you for ratings and money. The next time some tabloid journalist harasses you, you tell them how they should focus on the real issues of the war's aftermath."

Shepard snorted again. "I gave them that advice and they completely blew it off."

"At least you tried. All you can do now at this point is to take comfort in knowing that putting them in their place like that makes _them_ look bad, not you."

Shepard sighed. "I guess."

Garrus leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers. "You've done your part, Shepard. Now be a little selfish for once in your life and rest. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks. They don't know my girl like I do."

That last sentence provoked a small smile from her, which was what he was going for. "They sure don't."

"Just rest tonight. Tomorrow, we'll go out and do something. And… if you still feel like you want to help with getting the galaxy back on its feet, I have a small idea. The guy that owns the local market in town has been very active about helping out the refugees around this part of Earth. I'm sure he might have a few ideas on how you might be able to help besides giving out speeches."

Shepard seemed to think about it for a moment before she slowly nodded. "I guess that's a start… but let's try not to attract a crowd while we're there."

Garrus placed his mouth plates on her lips in a quick kiss. "It's a deal. Now, I'm hungry. I'll go ahead and make dinner."

Shepard suddenly gasped as though a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Shit!"

Garrus gave her a confused look. "What's the matter?"

She shook her head, but a small smile played on her face. "You know, the whole reason I was trying to go down the patio steps was to tell you that dinner's ready. Now the food's probably all cold."

Garrus chuckled at that. "You know you could have just yelled out my name to get my attention." His blue eyes became serious. "Don't try to go down those steps like that again. When I saw you fall down…"

Shepard slowly nodded. "Okay. And I'm sorry I scared you like that. And for the way I acted these last few days."

As she spoke, Garrus had shifted her so that she was now sitting down on the couch. He then got himself up, briefly giving her another kiss before pulling back and headed to the kitchen. "I'll go ahead and reheat our food."

"Get me a root beer while you're at it, will you?"

"Sure."

"Oh, and one other thing."

"Yes?"

"When Cyrena comes over on Thursday, I'll go ahead and accept her dinner invitation. I guess it's about time we try to get to know our neighbors."

That earned a turian grin from Garrus. "Glad to hear it."


	5. A Spectre Visits

Life living in a small town was different from what Shepard was used to. It wasn't the way she grew up, having been used to a different kind of life. However, as weeks passed and as she let herself get to know the people here, she was starting to think that living this life might not be so bad.

The community was primarily human of course. Until the war, only very few aliens lived here. Cyrena, her physical therapist, was one of only three asaris who were residents at the time. When Shepard and Garrus came over to her house for that Friday night dinner she invited them to, they met her human bondmate, Jason. Jason actually grew up here and the couple had agreed to settle here once they were bonded.

During the war, the Reapers had barely grazed over this part of town. Shepard guessed that it was because the population was so small. Strict rules were placed to make sure everyone was safe. Only residents who were initially out of town at the time of the Reapers' arrival were allowed back in, at least until the war ended. Still, there were some reaper forces that came by, but those with guns and biotics fought until they were either dead or driven out. Only nine people staying within town were killed that night.

However, just because the town didn't look devastated on the outside, it didn't mean that there weren't any scars left behind. Everyone had lost at least one person in the war. There were also a good number of people who had left town beforehand, but never returned. It was why they opened their town to alien settlers when no one was sure whether or not the mass relays would be reactivated anytime soon.

Even now, people were still trying to get back on their feet. The residents, both old and new, were bouncing ideas off of each other and finding new ways of getting the community to help in the recovery effect whether it was local, somewhere on the planet, or even extending help to other worlds in the galaxy.

Going through most of the town, Shepard was seeing some of those ideas in the works. There was one piece of land being used where a few turians and quarians were working with agriculture samples in hopes of growing crops in Earth soil to provide fresh dextro foods. She also spotted some people dressed in white and red uniform getting ready to head over to the makeshift hospital in the next town over (a collaboration idea with the town next door).

There were also talks of creating a housing committee to build small homes for refugees who are unable to return home. That would be a bit of a process because, first, they had to pick a piece of land out to build the homes on. Then, there were also those who don't want to see the project happen. Some were for concerns for resources, others for more… distasteful reasons ("There are enough aliens here as it is!" they might as well say).

The committee leader, who owned the market Garrus usually went for food supplies, wasn't able to find something for Shepard to do just yet (but did assure her that she won't be tossed around just to give speeches), but he promised that he would try to find her good volunteer work that didn't involve physical labor as soon as he could. At least now, Shepard won't have to feel stuck with nothing to do, even if no volunteer work was given to her just yet.

It was going to be another two months before the anniversary of the end of the Reaper War arrived. The housing committee was still being talked about, but there were now plans to erect a memorial for the residents and their extended family that had perished. There were still worries about the use of resources that could be used for more helpful matters, but last Shepard heard, a compromise was being worked out.

Thinking of the anniversary, Shepard couldn't believe how close the date was. Sure, her coma took five months out of her, but even her waking hours seemed like a long crawl, so the passing of time made it feel like years.

She didn't think too much about it, especially after she received an incoming message on her omni-tool.

At the moment, Shepard was sitting outside on the chair on the front porch basking in the afternoon sun (something she would have never thought she find herself doing last year). Garrus had left earlier to get supplies up in a smaller city called Syracuse. The committee leader had recommended the much-closer city (which also had the closest space port, though it was much smaller than the ones in the bigger cities) rather than taking the long trip to Toronto if he only wanted to get supplies. Garrus had only been up to Toronto once since the XLSixteen incident since he wanted to continue to help the turian refugees up there.

Opening up her omni-tool, Shepard smiled when she saw who sent the message to her; Kaidan Alenko. "Long time no talk," she said out loud.

Actually, she hadn't talked to him since his last hospital visit. She wanted to say that was maybe three months ago, but she couldn't quite remember. These days, the Council assigned many of their surviving Spectres to help in taking care of any criminal activities, especially ones that may hinder the galactic-scale recovery efforts. Kaidan had mentioned the last time they spoke that some of the other Spectres were still finding some Cerberus troops who apparently didn't receive the memo that their organization was now defunct.

Kaidan didn't talk about what the Council was having him do specifically, but they did assign him to stay on Earth once the Normandy returned. Now getting a message from him, she wondered what it could be about. She didn't think he was just sending her a 'what's up?' message like Joker usually did.

"Well, one way to find out," she said as she opened up the message;

_Hey Shepard,_

_A little blue bird told me that you and Garrus were sticking around the Northeast these days._

"Liara of course," Shepard whispered. She continued reading the message;

_I'm actually going to be in the area for a couple of days, mostly for Spectre business. You know how that goes. I thought maybe it would be fun to get together at your place, perhaps either tonight or tomorrow night, whatever works best for you. I'll even cook dinner and provide the beer, though I'm afraid that'll leave out Garrus. I still haven't had the chance to learn how to cook dextro meals. Either way, whatever you guys would like to do. Joker told me you two got a nice place._

_Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble on, but it'd be nice to see the both of you again._

_Talk to you soon,_

_Kaidan_

Shepard had to laugh a little while reading his message. She could practically hear him stammering as he tried to explain himself. For as long as she'd known him, Kaidan was always a bit more reserved compared to her other squad mates, so explaining things that didn't involve being a soldier wasn't always easy for him.

Shepard looked at the time and saw that it was only two thirty in the afternoon. Garrus had said that he would probably be home between five and seven this evening depending on what needed to get done. As far as she knew, neither of them had anything planned tonight.

Pressing the reply button, Shepard sent a message.

_Hey Kaidan,_

_It's nice to hear that the Council is keep you busy even while they're touring on my ship. I'm going a bit stir crazy myself, but the community I live in are trying to find some volunteer work for me, so hopefully that'll keep me occupied when the time comes._

_Garrus and I would love to have you over, and tonight sounds great! However, you don't need to make dinner for us. You're a great cook, but you're also a guest in our house. And no, I will not hear another word of it! There's a levo-dextro restaurant nearby that serves the kind of steaks us humans crave for whenever we're on, say, Sur-Kesh. Garrus is in Syracuse at the moment, but he should be home between five and seven tonight, so I'd say come over around six._

_See you soon!_

_Shepard_

At the bottom of the message, Shepard provided Kaidan with the address to the house before sending it forward. Once that was done, she began a new message to be sent to another address.

_Garrus,_

_Kaidan's in the area, and I invited him over for dinner tonight. He'll be here around six o'clock._

_Shepard_

She sent the message before slowly getting up and making her way back inside the house. Shepard headed to the kitchen, pulled out a draw on one of the counters, and took out a menu for the levo-dextro steakhouse she and Garrus got their food from on many occasions in the last two months. Just as she was opening the pamphlet, she received another message. She opened her omni-tool again to read the message.

_Sounds great! I'll see you two tonight._

_Kaidan_

Right after that, another message was sent. Shepard simply clicked on it to see it.

_Shepard,_

_Good thing I didn't plan to stay later tonight! It'll be good to see Kaidan again. Maybe it'll be just like old times._

_Garrus._

Shepard laughed a little and sent him another message.

_Garrus,_

' _Old times' involved us getting shot by a Geth Colossus while on foot. By the way, I'm going to order dinner from the levo-dextro restaurant for take-out between six and seven. Do you minding picking it up? I'd do it myself, but we only have one skycar and you happen to have it in your possession at the moment._

_Shepard_

Shepard then skimmed through the menu, picking out chicken parmesan with spaghetti for herself. For Kaidan, she picked a dinner that came with two New York steaks with garlic mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and a dinner roll. She was just starting to look over the dextro side of the menu when her omni-tool beeped. Knowing that it was Garrus, she opened up her message box again.

_Shepard,_

_I figured that old times were just us spending time with old comrades… okay, we usually are being shot at, but still. And hopefully, Kaidan is there when I get back because I'm bringing back quite a few things. But yes, I'll pick up dinner on the way home (I wish they delivered like that pizza place you ordered from that one time)._

_Garrus_

_PS – Get me some karne. As for the sides, surprise me._

* * *

Later after the food order was taken care of, Shepard spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV. First, she was watching a 'girl-power vampire buddy comedy' called _Blood Mary_. She ended up channeling surfing twenty-minutes into it after hearing enough cheesy cliché lines to induce a headache.

She then found another movie to watch called, _We Meet Again, Doctor Fear_ , which was about a captured salarian agent with a time machine that only took him fifteen minutes back into the past. The movie was somewhat a tad cheesy, but she did find herself laughing quite a bit at most of the funny moments.

Once the movie was over, Shepard looked over at the time and saw that it was five forty pm. She still had another twenty minutes before Kaidan arrived. Deciding to relax until then, she shut off the TV and leaned back into the recliner she was sitting on.

In quiet moments like this, Shepard tried all she could not to think too much about the past in fear of finding herself in a flashback. So she did all she could to keep her mind into a more positive state.

Specifically, she thought about the last few years with Kaidan. They met around 2182 when they were both assigned on the _SSV Bombay_ , a small frigate that patrolled around Earth's atmosphere. They were good friends by the time Anderson handpicked them both to serve on the Normandy SR1 a year later. Shepard still remembered being on the SR1 on her first day. She had looked out a small window, gazing down at Earth as it began its departure for Eden Prime, not knowing at that time that life as she knew it would change drastically.

Like Garrus, Kaidan had been there throughout the SR1 days. As a matter of fact, he was right from the beginning. On the _Bombay,_ the two had a mutual respect for each other, which grew into a closer friendship by the time they were transferred.

Once Shepard was Commander of the Normandy, one of her routines was to check in on everyone. It mainly served to help her figure out an individual's morale, but it was one part of her job that she looked forward to. It helped to get to know her crew and she always listened to everything they had to say and answered any questions or concerns that came up.

Shepard usually started in the CIC and worked her way down. After speaking with XO Pressly, Joker, and some of the other crew, she would go down the stairs to where the mess hall and the med bay were. Kaidan was always the first of her squad she would talk to.

Kaidan's time at Jump Zero (more professionally known as Gagarin Station where they had sent biotic students for training at a time where humans didn't understand biotics) was something Shepard realized he needed to air out, although he did make it clear that he did put it behind him. He usually kept to himself and didn't like to whine, he said, but she'd figured that working alongside aliens for the first time may have brought back old memories. They were memories of the kind of training that made kids snap or die and where you had to fend for yourself or starve (as she learned a few years later). But there were good memories, like the time he spent with his classmates and his crush on a girl named Rahna. Perhaps maybe things may have worked between them, but Rahna had ended up being afraid of him after he snapped his turian trainer's neck with a biotic kick in her defense.

It was during their talks that Shepard realized that he had a crush on her. He didn't even have to say anything directly. Hearing him describe Rahna as 'beautiful' and 'strong, but not stuck up about it,' followed by 'like you, ma'am,' was an obvious giveaway. Despite the Alliance rules on fraternization, she figured, 'why not?' When the hunt for Saren was over, Shepard realized that she had grown to care for Kaidan and decided to see where their relationship took them.

Then, the SR1 was attacked. Kaidan didn't want to leave, but she had ordered him to help the others get to the escape pods while she rescued Joker. Two years later, she woke up in a Cerberus lab and was brought back from the dead.

For weeks, Shepard wasn't sure what happened to Kaidan. Even Anderson had said the information was classified since she was working with Cerberus (not really by choice). She eventually found him on the colony Horizon when Cerberus asked her to investigate for the Collectors there (meanwhile, the Alliance thought that Cerberus was working with the Collectors).

Kaidan's words on Horizon stung her (though she was thrown for a loop when he admitted that he loved her… guess it was more than a crush). It was something she should have expected. She couldn't imagine the grief and guilt he had to endure in the aftermath of the attack, and even she was sure she'd be skeptical about her return if their roles were switched. Either way, Shepard had initially thought that what she and Kaidan had was over.

Kaidan had later sent her a message about what was going through his head when he saw her on Horizon. However, with so much happening after that day, Shepard didn't have the chance to even look at the message. By the time she did, the Collector base was destroyed and she already realized that she had strong feelings for Garrus.

They didn't see each other again until right before the Reapers hit in Vancouver. They both found themselves back on the Normandy and soon headed to Mars. Kaidan had been hurt at the end of that mission. Shepard still worried about him despite her initial annoyance with his questions about her involvement with Cerberus.

In the end, despite Horizon and despite pointing their guns at each other during the Cerberus coup, they were able to put all the bad things from the last three years behind them. Kaidan had even accepted that Shepard had moved on from their relationship ("As long as you're happy, that's all that matters," he had said then).

When Kaidan came back onto the Normandy, Shepard personally found it amusing when the crew started betting over who was going to win the 'romance brawl' between Garrus and Kaidan (she only found it because Joker had let it slip by accident). She had faith in them, especially considering that they were both grown men who had respected each other since the SR1 days. Garrus did say that they did talk… Kaidan had said to him, 'Take care of her.' That was that as far as Shepard knew.

Shepard's mind suddenly brought her back to the present as the front door opened. Turning her head, she saw Garrus come inside carrying two bags from the levo-dextro restaurant she ordered from earlier today.

"You're home early," Shepard said as she looked at the time. Ten minutes before six.

"Got done early," Garrus replied. "All the new stuff is in the skycar, but there so much of it. I'll have Kaidan help me sort them out once he gets here."

"Hopefully nothing that's considered perishables."

"Definitely not."

"And let me guess… you got mods and upgrades for our guns, right?"

"Not just our guns," Garrus mentioned as he went into the kitchen to place the bags on the counter. "You know that quite a handful of our neighbors own guns. Most of them purchased at least one during the Reaper war for protection."

"That's not surprising," Shepard said. "So, what about it?"

"Well, I got a message from Davidson, the committee leader, today. I've told him about my talents for calibrating guns and - what are you laughing at?"

Shepard shook her head, still grinning. "Nothing, go on."

Garrus sighed, though now he was smiling, too. "Anyway, he thought it would be a good idea to keep myself available for anyone who may need their guns fixed. I already got a few requests and how much it'll cost to get it done."

Shepard tilted her head at that. "So in other words, you got a new job."

Garrus shrugged. "I wouldn't really call it a job-"

"You're getting paid for it, what else do you call it?"

"Actually, I was offered money, but I haven't even named my price. Hell, I might not because I'd rather see their money spent on rebuilding the galaxy."

Shepard shrugged. "Well… my pension is helping us right now, but it won't last forever. Honestly, it wouldn't hurt to make extra money. Besides, if you're concerned about it, you can set it up to where a certain percent of the proceeds goes to helping with the recovery efforts. You earn yourself some profit while still helping out in another way."

Garrus gazed as her thoughtfully. "In that case, I guess I'll think about it."

That's when they heard someone knock on the front door.

"I'll get that," Garrus said as he walked over to the door. Upon opening the door, it took the turian a split second to recognize Kaidan. For as long as he's known the human, Kaidan was always in his Alliance uniform. Today, however, Kaidan wore his civilian clothes consisting of a brown sweater, blue jeans, and black shoes.

"Alenko."

"Vakarian."

Garrus grinned and put his hand out. "Welcome to our kingdom."

Kaidan chuckled at that as he shook his head. "Thanks. It's good to see you again. How are you?"

"I'm good." Garrus then stepped to the side. "Come on in."

Kaidan walked into the cabin, almost whistling at the sight of the cathedral ceiling in the living room. Then, his attention was turned as he saw Shepard just as she got herself on her feet.

"Hey Kaidan," Shepard said cheerfully.

Kaidan went over to her and they both shared a brief, friendly hug. "Hey Shepard," he replied. "How are you doing?"

Shepard pulled away from the hug. "Well aside from my legs, I'm doing fine."

"She's moving around more than the doctors at the hospital recommended," Garrus mentioned. "But she's doing much better these last two months."

"I'm surprised you didn't try to make a grand escape from the hospital during your whole stay," Kaidan said.

"Well had I thought about getting Garrus to calibrate a wheelchair to make it go as fast as the Mako, I would have."

Kaidan chuckled at that. "Now, _that_ I would have paid a year's worth of my salary to see."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that as she folded her arms in front of her, one side of her lips pushed up in a smirk. "Why, so can jab me about my driving skills?"

Kaidan feigned innocence by raising both hands up to chest level. "No ma'am. And for the record, my life _never_ flashed before my eyes every time I stepped into the Mako."

"Uh huh."

Garrus decided to change the subject (mainly because he was trying all he could to not laugh). "Um, honey, why don't you go ahead and set the table for dinner. Kaidan, I have some stuff in the skycar that needs to be brought inside. If you're lucky, you might find some of that _Molson_ beer you like so much somewhere in the back of the trunk."

Kaidan laughed. "I think you planned this all along. All right, let's go."

Fifteen minutes later, Shepard, Garrus, and Kaidan sat around the small table in the kitchen digging into their respective meals. Shepard had to guess that the chore of bringing the supplies out of the car and into the house was done in record time since the beer Garrus got for Kaidan was on the table. Judging by the condensation on the outside of the bottle, Garrus had placed the bottles in a cooler to keep them cold.

For a few minutes, the only sound in the room was the scraping of utensils since the three of them found themselves pretty hungry. Eventually, Kaidan finished one of his steaks before speaking. "I haven't had a good steak like this since we went to Apollo's on the Citadel."

"Though I think it was the last of their supply judging by the quality at the time," Shepard mentioned.

"And the only alcoholic drink they had left was batarian shard wine if I remember you saying," Garrus said.

"Yup," Shepard said. "But it was expected considering the war."

"Have you two done a lot of cooking since you moved here?" Kaidan asked curiously.

"I mostly try the 'quick and easy' meals I find on the extranet," Shepard admitted. "It makes my life easier. Either that or I'm at least make a meal where I can throw together a few ingredients into a pan and make a casserole."

"That includes dextro meals," Garrus added.

"Hey, I'm still learning my way around it," Shepard said. "Just don't expect me to host an all-turian dinner banquet anytime soon."

"Well, the place you got this from is pretty good," Kaidan mentioned.

The biotic's eyes lit up as though he just thought of something. "Hey, the other day when I was at the docking port in Vancouver, guess who I ran into?"

Shepard sighed. "You know I hate guessing games."

"Then I'll guess," said Garrus. "The ghost of Nassana Dantius."

"Oh jeez," Shepard breathed as she put a hand over her face.

"What?" Garrus shrugged. "We're never going to guess anyway, so we might as well have fun with it."

Shepard sighed. "Rolan Quarn."

Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Nevermind," said Garrus. "Matriarch Aethyta."

"Nope."

"Sha'ira the Consort?" guessed Shepard

"If it helps, it's not an asari," Kaidan mentioned.

"Well that leaves out Liara and Samara," said Garrus.

"Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani," Shepard groaned.

Kaidan pointed. "You are correct!"

"And I can't believe you remembered her full named," Garrus mentioned.

Shepard shook her head. "She's said it every time she introduced herself, so it's kind of hard not to."

"So you ran into her," Garrus said. "I assume she wanted an interview."

"Sort of," Kaidan replied. "Apparently, Westurland News is trying to find out your whereabouts."

Shepard shook her head, almost wanting to let her head drop onto the table. "Great… this was what I feared."

"I can only imagine," Kaidan said. "And you know… now I can understand the temptation to punch al-Jilani."

"That reminds me," Garrus spoke up as he turned to Shepard. "Is it true that Liara has a large collection of vids of al-Jilani being punched by those she's tried to interview?"

Shepard laughed. "Yes she does."

"Huh," Kaidan breathed. "I'm surprised she didn't die from multiple concussions by now."

Shepard smirked. "She is thick-headed after all."

That got a laugh from Garrus. "That wouldn't surprise me if that was true."

"There was this one vid where a krogan punched her. I don't know why but… I was left disappointed after that."

"Why is that?" asked Kaidan.

Shepard took a sip of her water before replying. "The vid lacked a good head-butt."

"I'm surprised you didn't do that in the past few years," Garrus said.

"… She didn't deserve that 'honor' coming from me."

"Fair enough."

"Head-butting, huh?" Kaidan said, not sure what that was about.

"When we were stuck with Cerberus," Garrus explained. "Shepard once got annoyed with this krogan while we were on Tuchanka and gave him a good head-butt."

"Ouch," Kaidan groaned, rubbing his forehead at the thought. "How did you feel after that?"

"A little rattled, but I was still standing," Shepard answered.

"Are you kidding?" Garrus spoke up. "You had a bruise on your head along with a mild concussion!"

Shepard grinned. "But you have to admit, it was worth it to see him all, 'you-you dare!'"

That story led to more antics on Tuchanka, though it wasn't much. Kaidan especially had a good laugh as he tried to imagine an adolescent krogan in Omega having friends buy him a few dances in celebration of entering adulthood.

Soon, Kaidan ended up asking Shepard something that was on his mind since he walked into the house. "Hey, so I understand you're on medical leave from the Alliance."

Shepard took a deep breath as she nodded. "Yeah. At the moment, I'm doing physical therapy. I did see one doctor who Dr. Chakwas recommended, but I'm thinking it might be worth it to go to Geneva to see Dr. Michel, at least until Dr. Chakwas comes back from the Council's galaxy tour."

"Geneva's pretty far, but if anything, Dr. Michel's good," Kaidan mentioned. "She was the one overseeing my care when I was in the hospital at the beginning of the war."

"I remember," Shepard said. "Whenever I visited Huerta Memorial, I usually ran into her and we would talk for a bit."

"I did speak to her not too long ago. Her brother had survived, but her parents perished as far as they know since she hasn't heard from them. They're both helping out in Geneva anyway they can."

"I imagine most towns and cities are doing the same," Garrus guessed.

"She did ask me about the two of you," Kaidan brought up. "At the time, you were still recovering at the hospital."

"I bet she mentioned Garrus a lot…" Shepard said.

Kaidan laughed. "As a matter of fact, Garrus, Dr. Michel said something about how she hoped you enjoyed the chocolates she gave you."

"I did," Garrus said. "Tali liked them too."

"If I didn't know better, Garrus, I think Dr. Michel has a cr-"

" _Anyway!_ " Shepard called out. "As I was saying, I may take the trip to see her and see what she thinks about my recovery."

"She'll be happy to see you, I'm sure," Kaidan said. "And speaking of recovery… how is yours going?"

Shepard sighed again. "Well… the physical therapy and all that is a pain in the ass and it's going slower than I want it to."

"I imagine you want to get back out there into the fight," Kaidan guessed.

Shepard nodded. "At times, yeah, but hopefully the work in this town will keep me busy once they have something for me to do."

"I know that feeling. I felt restless myself when I was at Huerta."

Shepard smirked. "Now you understand why I hate hospitals."

"Everybody hates hospitals," Kaidan pointed out. "Unless you're a medical doctor of course."

"Hey since you're here Kaidan, did you want to watch a movie?" Garrus offered.

"Hmm, I was thinking about how I wanted to see _We Meet Again, Doctor Fear_ for a while."

"Ugh, I just saw that movie right before you came here!" Shepard groaned.

"Was it any good?"

"It was a tad cheesy, but there were quite a few parts that were pretty funny."

After debating on what movie to see, the three of them eventually settled on an asari film called _Dark Goddess_. The movie was bit long and dragged on a bit without much happening. By the time the credits rolled and Garrus turned the lights on, Shepard was curled up on the couch and had fallen asleep on her side.

Garrus quietly told Kaidan to grab them a couple of beers and meet him on the front porch. While Kaidan did that, Garrus grabbed a blanket from his bedroom, went back to the living room and carefully covered Shepard with it. He looked at her for a moment before briefly nuzzling his mouthplates on her temple before straightening up and headed outside.

Kaidan was already sitting on a chair, an open bottle of beer in hand as he overlooked the small field in front of them. By then, the sun had set and the stars that were seen were gleaming above.

Kaidan had set Garrus' beer on the table that sat between the two chairs and the turian settled onto the spare one before grabbing the bottle and opening it.

"I think you two had the right idea about getting an isolated place," Kaidan brought up.

"Well," Garrus replied with a shrug. "It's not _that_ isolated. Most of those in town know who we are, but so far, they've been good about not telling some news place about our location. I can only hope that that kind of luck will continue to hold."

Kaidan nodded. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Shepard, but I heard what happened with XLSixteen…"

Garrus sighed at that. "Yeah… that was a rough week."

"And then Westerlund News has a reward for information leading to her current location…"

Garrus shook his head at that. "They might as well treat her like a criminal the way they're going after her…"

"Thus my earlier temptation to punch al-Jilani," Kaidan said. "By the way, I told them that you both went away to help with clean-up near the Perseus Veil after the XLSixteen incident. That'll keep them far away for a bit."

Garrus nodded. "Appreciate it."

Kaidan took a long sip of his beer before asking another question that was on his mind for a bit. "How is Shepard… really?"

Garrus found himself staring down at his own feet. "She wasn't kidding about how she feels about how slow her recovery is. She's frustrated about her injuries as well. The physical therapy is helping, but… we all think it's going to be a while before there's a big improvement, if ever."

"So… there's a chance that she might not, well… be back on active duty again."

Garrus shook his head. Not wanting to take the conversation on this path, he decided to steer it. "However… I have a small feeling that she is enjoying the peace she's been given since the war ended." He laughed a little. "Just don't expect her to admit it."

"That wouldn't surprise me," Kaidan said.

There was another pause as the two men took another sip of their beer before Kaidan spoke again. "Garrus."

"Yeah?"

"… I'm glad you're here for her. To be honest… when I think about it, I don't think I'd be able to… provide the same kind of care for her with everything the Council's having me do these days."

"You would have found a way if you could, believe me," Garrus said.

"Maybe."

"Well… I guess I was just lucky to have worked closely with the Primarch. He knew I wanted to stay with Shepard, so he worked out a way for me to stay here to help the turians refugees on Earth."

Kaidan smirked. "That or Shepard would have used her spectre authority somehow."

"Luckily that wasn't necessary. But you're a spectre too, Kaidan."

Kaidan let out a sound that was similar to a laugh. "Okay, maybe I would have used my spectre status… maybe."

Garrus' mandibles flared into a grin. "See, you would have figured out a way."

Kaidan cleared his throat. "Either way… I'm glad you're here for her. I believe that even if her recovery doesn't work out the way she wants it too, as long as you're by her side, she'll be all right. Even when she was with Ceberus, you've always had her six. I can't think of anyone else who can be there for her more than you. "

Garrus nodded. "I appreciate the thought."

For a while afterwards, the two sat in contented silence.


	6. Small Reminiscences

One sunny day just after noon, Garrus came home with more than Shepard had expected to him to. He originally went out to buy the grill he had been interested in buying ever since they moved to this cabin just over two months ago. With summer coming up, many of the stores still in operations after the war began their soon-to-be-summer sale events. The minute he saw the grill he wanted on sale, Garrus took the opportunity.

Shepard had to chuckle when he made a dash for the front door, only stopping to give her a brief kiss. "I'll be back!" he called out as he went outside.

"I'm sure that grill's not going to be out of stock, so don't rush!" Shepard advised just before he closed the door (at least he remembered to do that).

For a few minutes after that, Shepard was wondering what made her turian lover so excited about buying a simple grill. Then she realized… it was an excuse for him to calibrate the hell out of another piece of equipment to see how much more effective it'll operate.

With that in mind, Shepard had to hope for one thing… that he doesn't calibrate the grill to his likings so much that they wouldn't be able to use it for the whole summer. Shepard had to chuckle at the thought because, honestly, it would not surprise her. Even now, he was still trying to get the skycar to work at optimum capacity… even though he bought the vehicle brand new just three months ago.

Garrus came home two hours later. Shepard had heard the car pull up to the driveway, so she slowly got up and made it to the door almost a minute later. Upon opening it, she leaned herself against the door frame just as he approached the passenger side of the skycar. From her viewpoint, she could tell that he packed in more than one box into the car.

Garrus grinned upon seeing Shepard at the door. "Hey, sorry it took so long!" he called out as he started getting a box out that was sitting on the front passenger seat.

Shepard shook her head despite the smirk that crept upon her lips. "I wonder why."

"Well I realized that there were a couple of other things I thought we could use," he explained as he placed the box on the front lawn… the grill, Shepard realized upon seeing the picture. "There's a lot less than what it looks like in the car."

"Now you have me curious," Shepard said as she moved to sit down on one of the wicker chairs on the front porch.

She watched Garrus pull out two large sky blue cushions that looked like they belonged to lawn chairs. Shepard guessed that the two boxes sitting in the back seat were the lawn chairs that the cushions will be placed on. When he went reach into the back seat, she thought that he would be grabbing the chairs, but instead, he got an elongated box that was lying across the car floor behind the front seats.

"Geez Vakarian, what did you buy?" she called out while raising an eyebrow.

"Something I think you'll love," he said, and she could just hear a trill of excitement in his subharmonics as he began to approach her with the elongated box. To think she had expected him to act like this over the grill he was eager to buy just a few hours ago. Whatever this was, it was definitely worth the money.

"Well, I noticed the lawn chairs, the cushions, and the grill you were thrilled about a few hours ago. What's in the other box?" she asked.

"Something I've been meaning to buy when we moved here," Garrus said as he set the box down in front of her. He turned it so that she can see the picture of what he brought. Her eyes beamed and her smirk turned into a grin.

"You got a target machine!" she asked. Now he understood his excitement because she was feeling the same way upon seeing it.

"It's one of those ones that shoot out clay to be used for target practice," Garrus replied. "There are about 300 clays included in this box and I have two more separate stacks in the trunk." His mandibles spread into a grin. "I was thinking we could spend the afternoon doing target practice. What do you say?"

"Hell yeah!" Shepard agreed enthusiastically.

It took about twenty minutes to set up. It turned out that the lawn chairs were purchased for the purpose of their target practice so that Shepard didn't have to stand the whole time. He stretched out the chairs and while he set up the target machine, Shepard tied the cushions onto the lawn chair.

"You sure this fabric will withstand the punishment of your rough hide?" she asked.

"Yeah, the kind of upholstery on them is thick enough for accidental scratches. Now if I decided to purposely scratch it with my talon, that's a whole other story."

Shepard chuckled. "Like a cat."

"A what?"

"Small domestic animal humans can own. They're known to scratch up furniture."

"Why?"

Shepard shrugged. "Hell if I know. I've never owned one before."

Garrus straightened himself up after messing with the target machine. "That's all set and ready to go. I'll go get our guns. Any you want in particular?"

"Surprise me," Shepard replied as she began to read the machine's manual.

A few minutes later, Garrus came back with two M-92 Mantis sniper rifles. She took her rifle from him before he set down a box of slugs next to each lawn chair. He sat down and they both began to load their rifles.

"Okay, I was thinking we set this thing up to shoot every two minutes to start," he started to explain.

Shepard smirked. "Every two minutes? Are you out of practice, Vakarian?"

"No," Garrus said with a click of his mandibles. "Just… making things more fair."

If anyone else had said that, Shepard would have been offended. The truth was that this was the first time she held a gun with the intention to actually use it rather than to organize or clean. The last time she held a loaded gun was in London… no, on the Citadel when-

Shepard barely shook her head to get the dark memories out of her mind. Just in time too because Garrus apparently noticed her long pause and he was beginning to turn to look at her. She managed to give him a faux exasperated look. "Uh huh," she managed to say.

Garrus grinned again. "How about a bet?"

Shepard smirked. "Whoever misses the shot first has to buy the other a drink at that local bar we haven't been to yet."

Garrus chuckled as he adjusted his rifle's scope to his likings. "You're on. At least they serve dextro drinks there, even if it's not danorian."

"Say, do you still have those kill counts on record?" she asked curiously.

Garrus took a moment to scroll through some information on his kuwashii visor. "Let's see… ah, there we go. It's still pretty close… I'm six counts ahead."

"Really?" Shepard called out. "I could've sworn I was ahead of you!"

Garrus grinned even more. "It would've been five ahead for me if you hadn't missed back on our date on top of the Presidium."

"I told you, I missed on purpose."

Garrus exhaled a sigh she knew he made loud on purpose. "Still as prideful as ever. By the way, what's that human saying… ladies first?"

"Such a gentleman," Shepard replied with mirth.

Garrus started up the machine. Thirty seconds later, the first clay shot out and headed towards the lake in front of them. Shepard took aim before pulling the trigger. The slug managed to hit the clay, causing it to disintegrate over the water.

Shepard smiled. "Nice to see I still got it nearly a year later."

With the two minute countdown in place, it did give the couple a chance to talk in between shots. Shepard happened to look up towards the clear blue sky. Within a few hours just before the sun set, one would see the glimpse of the broken Citadel moving around Earth's orbit. She knew that it couldn't be moved back to the Serpent Nebula right now because doing so would cause even more damage to the station. She was at least thankful that the station only showed up mostly at night… unless the light from the moon gleamed on it, it was hard to see it in the darkened sky. She didn't want any reminders right now…

"Have you… heard anything recent about the Citadel's progress… after…" she tried to mention.

Garrus caught what she was trying to say. "I heard a rumor just this morning when I was talking to Victus. It's possible that people might be let back on Shalta Ward very soon, perhaps right after the anniversary…"

"That soon?"

Garrus nodded. "It suffered the least damage after the Crucible blast… but don't take my word for it. It's just rumors."

The target machine went off and Garrus took the shot. Just like the last clay, it disintegrated over the lake.

"How is he?" Shepard asked concerning the turian Primarch.

"Going stir crazy, but 'it could be worse,' he said," Garrus replied. "He mentioned wanting us both to come to Palaven to visit whenever you're feeling up to it."

A soft smile came over Shepard's lips. "First your dad and sister, now Victus. Maybe after the… anniversary of defeating the reapers is over, we'll go."

Garrus nodded. "It is long overdue, isn't it?"

"Yeah… besides, you need to finally meet your sister's… boyfriend? Mate?"

"Mate," Garrus corrected. "Bondmate once they're married. I finally found out his name… Xarius Anagnos. He's from Digeris, respectable family, was an XO for the dreadnought he served on during the war. It was the same dreadnought my father and sister managed to get on after they escaped Palaven. That's how they met."

"Do you think they'll get married?" Shepard asked.

"Not sure, though Dad hinted that he wants her to."

"Sounds like he likes this Xarius," Shepard added.

Garrus smiled. "Can't imagine why… he is high ranking official with a good background. As far as I can guess, he's also a by-the-books kind of guy."

Shepard chuckled. "That wouldn't surprise me."

Her small smile soon faded as she thought back on the Citadel. "I wonder what became of Anderson's apartment…"

"As I recall, he gave it to you," Garrus reminded her.

"Yeah, but… I didn't have it for very long, so I can't really consider it my own."

Garrus nodded in understanding. "Do you think you might want to go back once Zakera Ward is up and running again?"

Shepard found herself looking up towards the sky as though she was thinking over it. Garrus briefly looked at the timer on the target machine and saw that she had about forty-five seconds before her turn came up.

After a long pause, Shepard took a deep breath. "Maybe. I guess I'll have to see how I feel once I'm actually there."

Garrus decided to turn the conversation to something a little more lighthearted. "And maybe once the Presidium is up and running again, we can have another date there."

He felt good upon seeing her smile. She shifted her eyes to him without turning her head. That was when the machine went off. Without hesitation, Shepard aimed her gun, took a deep breath, and fired. Once more, she hit the target.

"And maybe after that," she continued. "We can go to the same hotel we stayed at that night."

Garrus chuckled. "Maybe we'll even get the same suite like last time."

She didn't laugh back, but her smile was there. He heard her take another deep breath before saying her next words. "You know… it does help to talk about the better memories of the war… keeps one sane."

"Yeah," Garrus sighed, briefly looking down at the grass. They were quiet for a bit after that, at least until Garrus shot the next clay from the sky.

"You know… one day, we can get the whole gang back together for a reunion… once the galaxy's rebuilt of course," the turian suggested.

Shepard's smirk returned. "Yeah… that'll definitely be a while."

"But at least it'll be something to look forward to one of these days." That reminded him. "So… aside from Kaidan, Joker, EDI, and Dr. Chakwas, have you heard from anyone else lately?"

Shepard turned her head to him. "I know Liara's helping with getting Thessia back on its feet. Other than that, she's been hush-hush about her base of operations as a Shadow Broker. My guess is that she's trying to reorganize."

"That doesn't surprise me," Garrus said.

"Tali didn't have much to update as of last week," Shepard continued. "The quarians are still trying to find a way to get the geth back up… the politics in that has been hard to bypass, which isn't a surprise considering the past…"

Garrus nodded. "Yeah."

"But in the meantime, they are rebuilding Rannoch. No word on whether or not she started building that home with the window view in front of that lake."

Garrus laughed. "She would love to come visit here."

Shepard smiled more. "She would. Oh, and Traynor and Cortez went to help out in Vancouver with Vega. Adams, Donnelly, and Daniels went on that Council tour to maintain the Normandy engines."

"I just hope no one messes with the main battery," Garrus added.

Shepard chuckled. "I'll make sure you get clearance to come aboard once the Normandy returns to Earth. That way, you can make sure everything is up to your standards. As far as I know, I'm still a Spectre."

Garrus smiled. "Appreciate it."

Another piece of clay shot out, and Shepard hits the target the ease once more. As she leaned herself back, her eyes gazed over the lake, and Garrus didn't miss the ghost of a smile on her face.

"What's on your mind?" he asked curiously.

"Hmm," Shepard hummed. It was followed by a quiet laugh. "No, it's silly."

"Tell me," Garrus encouraged. Whatever was on her mind, it was something that was, well, silly as she said. He wanted nothing more than to talk about happier things. It helped with steering away the darker thoughts of their life as soldiers, even if it was only for a little while.

"Well…" Shepard started to say. "I was watching this old Earth movie the other day while you were in Syracuse called, _Grumpy Old Men_. I was just thinking how much the lake in the movie looks like this one in front of us."

Garrus tilted his head thoughtfully. "Maybe they used the same lake in the film?"

Shepard shook her head. "I don't think so. Anyway, you should see the movie one day. It's almost two-hundred years old so some things are a bit out of date, but overall, it's pretty funny."

Almost two-hundred years old? "How do your Earth films survive so long without today's galactic technology?"

Right after he said that, Garrus shot at another piece of clay. He had a feeling that this competition was going to go on for a while, but he didn't mind because right now, they were both enjoying themselves.

Shepard luckily had an immediate answer for that. "National Film Registry. They keep inducted movies well-preserved even after so long. Humans started making movies as early as the last decade of the nineteenth century. A lot of films between then and the early twentieth century were lost due to poor preservation. At least the later ones got a chance."

Garrus's brow plates were raised upwards, giving him a wide-eyed look. "I… didn't realize you were so into movie history."

Shepard laughed. "I didn't even know any of that until recently. I also realized how many movies I missed during my military years. Since I'm… out of commission right now, I've been taking the opportunity to catch up on what I missed. Already, I started building a preference."

That got Garrus curious. "What do you think of _Vaenia_?"

"Overrated."

"What?! Really?!"

Shepard grinned. "Yeah, I said it! I mean, those two actresses may have been pretty, but everything else about it bored me to tears."

"… You actually cried?"

"No! It's another human saying. It just means that I was _really_ bored."

"… You humans have really weird sayings."

"I should buy you a human phrases dictionary for you next birthday. Anyway, have you ever seen _Starless_?"

Garrus shook his head. "Actually, I haven't, though I heard it was interesting. What about _Fleet and Flotilla_?"

Shepard snorted. "I saw that with Tali at Anderson's apartment last year during our shore leave. It was okay… cheesy, but okay… I don't understand how it won awards… just don't her I said that."

"I heard that was her favorite movie."

Shepard smiled thoughtfully. "She didn't even have to say that for me to figure that out. She told me that day that she and her friends would watch it every time they had a sleepover and-"

As Shepard explained the story, the target machine let out another piece of clay. She stopped mid-sentence as she realized that the clay was hers to shoot. Raising her rifle, she attempted to aim, but just as she got it in her sights, the clay fell into the water, leaving a heavy splash behind.

"Damn it," she grumbled.

Garrus let out a cheer as he raised his arm up in victory. "I'm Garrus Vakarian and _this_ is now my favorite spot on Earth!"

Shepard nearly wanted to plant her face into the palm of her hand. Whether it was from missing or Garrus' victory yell, she hadn't decided yet. "Oh for the love of… I was distracted!"

Garrus laughed. "It looks like someone owes me a drink!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shepard grumbled again.

* * *

After they had dinner and once the sun set for the day, Garrus and Shepard headed over to the main part of town to try out the local bar they hadn't had the chance to check out yet. Compared to places like Chora's Den and Purgatory on the Citadel, King's had a much more relaxed atmosphere. It clearly catered to humans judging by its looks and music, but there were neon signs on the window that advertised dextro drinks. There was even a sign on the front door that said, 'Quarian friendly, inquire within.'

' _They must have sterilized drinks for them_ ,' Garrus guessed. ' _I bet Tali would love this place_.'

It didn't surprise Shepard that the customer's warmly greeted her and Garrus the minute they walked in. They got themselves a table in a quiet corner (well, at quiet as it could get with the human music blasting). They barely sat down when the owner approached them and offered the first round on the house.

Shepard thanked him before saying, "I'll buy the next round for everyone here."

The owner yelled out to the room. "Hey everyone! Next round of drinks are on Commander Shepard!"

Everyone whooped and hollered at that and some yelled out their thanks. Garrus smiled at her once it was calm again. "Why did you do that?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I thought it was fair," Shepard explained. "I get the first round free, and they get the next one on me. I figured that made us all even."

"Fair enough," he nodded.

"I thought so."

It didn't take long for the owner to bring their drinks to their table. Shepard smiled. "The third round's on me, big guy. That's what I owe you from our contest."

"First it was too windy, now you were distracted," Garrus pointed out playfully. "What kind of excuse will you come up with next?"

Shepard narrowed her eyes, but she still kept her smile. Seeing that made him feel his chest warm up… she was smiling a lot today, more than the first three years he had known her combined, he realized. He didn't expect something like this every day, but he can only hope that it happened much more often for a long time.

"I can't wait to see what excuse you come up with the day you finally miss a shot," she retorted.

He leaned back against his chair, and she swore that he was giving her smug look. "Garrus Vakarian _never_ misses a shot, remember?"

"Uh huh," Shepard hummed.

"So… for this first round of drinks, is there anything you want to toast?"

Shepard looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully before one toast came to her. "To a better galaxy."

"I'll drink to that." Their bottles clinked together and they both brought them to their mouths.

Shepard's bottle barely grazed her lips when she happened to look over at a space in the bar nearby. She realized quickly that the space served as a dance floor. Shepard found herself staring at the various groups having a good time. There were mostly humans and some were in groups dancing together, but it wasn't hard to miss the couples who were dancing. Once again, mostly human, but there were other couples as well… the turian couple she knew as the owners of the dextro market down the street (at the moment, she couldn't remember their names), a female human with a male salarian (that was a fairly common pairing she saw back on the Citadel), and even an asari with a male quarian (that was new to her).

If there was one good thing about seeing all of this, it's that it reminded Shepard of one of the things she fought for… to give people like the ones in this bar a chance to enjoy life as it should be without worry about whether or not there was ever going to be a tomorrow.

The current dull ache in her legs, however, reminded her of some of the sacrifices she made for that tomorrow to happen.

Garrus had finished sipping his drink and upon placing the bottle on the table, he became concerned once he noticed the far-away look in Shepard's eyes. "Shepard?" he questioned with worry, unsure of whether or not her mind slipped to a flashback.

Shepard, although she heard him, didn't turn her head as she continued to look at the dance floor. "I was just thinking… well… there are good memories, like the ones we talked about today… and there are things that were part of those memories that you realize you may never do again…"

Garrus noticed that she had been staring at something, so he turned his head to see what she was looking at. Upon seeing the dancers, he realized that one thing she may never do again… dancing. For a brief moment, his mind flashed to that one night on the Citadel at the Silvercoast Casino when he put his tango lessons (courtesy of Vega) to good use. Shepard was a disaster when it came to dancing, but she got the idea of tangoing that night as he led her. It was an evening they would always treasure.

His heart ached at the realization of knowing that another tango was not in the near future for them, if ever.

As he turned to her, Shepard seemed to shrug her thoughts away. "Well… I was a disaster when it came to dancing anyway."

At that moment, the music changed to something much more slow-paced. An idea came to the turian then. No, there would be no tango, but slow dancing was still an option.

Garrus stood up and took her hand. "Come on, there are other ways we can dance."

Shepard had been in the middle of trying to sip her drink, but she didn't even have the chance to actually taste the alcohol before he took her hand. She gave him a wide-eyed look. "What are you doing?"

Garrus laughed and decided to repeat some words he said the last time she asked him that. "It'll be fun," he said as he pulled her up to her feet.

At first, Shepard was sure that Garrus had it in mind to take her to the dance floor. Instead, he moved them a couple of feet away from the table to give them some space. He wrapped one arm around her waist, his hand resting on her lower back. The other took a hold of her hand before raising them up to her shoulder level (and chest level for him). He then pulled her closer and she rested her head on his chest with him placing his chin on top of her head.

For a while, they swayed side to side in a slow pace, not even bothering to follow the rhythm of the song playing in the background. In this moment, they were simply enjoying the presence of one another.

Shepard breathed a soft laugh at one point. "No quip about my bad dancing?"

"Hmm, not this time," Garrus replied. Shepard noticed how soft his voice was when he said that and she knew that he was deep in thought.

She looked up at him knowingly. He looked at her and before she had the chance to say anything, he spoke. "I know I don't say this much, but…" he crooned. "I love you."

In reply, she nuzzled her forehead into the side of his neck. "I love you, too. And… thank you… for sticking around and putting up with me while I recover."

She felt Garrus' hand gently rub her lower back as he brought her closer to him. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of this writing, 'Grumpy Old Men,' is actually not on the National Film Registry... but it may in the future. =P


	7. The Black Creature

Early in the morning, Garrus took the opportunity to go get some groceries since the food supply was running a little low. It was mostly essential ingredients and drinks, so he didn't plan to buy a lot.

Last night had been a long one, mainly for Shepard, who woke up a couple of times during the night in a cold sweat after having a nightmare. He tried to get her to tell him what the nightmare was about, but Shepard only said, 'the usual with the dark trees.' He didn't push any further.

As a turian, Garrus didn't need as much sleep as humans, so it was nearly a routine that he would be the first one up. Sometimes, he would stay in bed with Shepard until she was up. Other times, like today, he would go about his errands and let her sleep as long as she needed. He knew she would need it after last night. Before leaving, Garrus left a small note on Shepard's nightstand letting her know that he would be back.

When he returned home, Shepard was awake. She sat in the living room on the armchair and was playing around with her omni-tool. She still looked tired judging by the dark circles around her eyes, but Garrus was surprised to see the small smirk on her face as she stared at the screen lit up by her omni-tool.

"Hey," Garrus said to get her attention.

Shepard looked up and the smirk on her face widened. "Hey. Did you remember to get some maple syrup?"

Garrus looked down at the bags he was carrying. "I got syrup, but I can't remember if I got maple or not."

"Well hopefully it's just generic syrup for pancakes and not strawberry or something. I've been craving pancakes all morning."

On her omni-tool, Shepard brought up a picture to show to Garrus. "Look at what I ordered just a few minutes ago."

Garrus squinted his eyes as he tried to figure out what it was. It looked like the large, black pot that Shepard sometimes used when she attempted to make soup, but the front it clearly had buttons and a digital timer on the front of it. "Is it like some fancy pot for the stove?"

"It's not really a pot," Shepard explained. "It's a slow cooker."

Garrus walked off into the kitchen to set the bags down on the counter. "A slow cooker?"

"Yeah. So instead of spending time trying to cook a meal and standing in front of a hot stove, now all you have to do is throw a bunch of ingredients in the pot with you meat first thing in the morning, and then you set the timer to cook all day."

Garrus raised his brow ridge at that as he started putting the groceries away. "Why would you want something that cooks all day when you can just make the meal in so much less time in the evening?"

"Because all you have to worry about is getting everything together and setting the timer. It only takes a few minutes to do. Then, you can enjoy the rest of the day and when it's finally dinner time, you just take it out and serve. It also cuts down on the amount of dishes you would normally use for stove-cooked meals, and it's especially good for busy schedules. And the great part is that it doesn't burn the food as easily because it cooks, well, slowly."

Garrus could understand her decision to buy one. Although she does have a couple of tall stools for both the counter and for the front of the stove, having a slow cooker would definitely give her much less stress on her legs.

Shepard leaned back into her chair. "Now life just got easier."

Garrus chuckled at that. "I thought you don't like easy."

"Not when it comes to cooking and dishes! Did I ever tell you how much I hate cleaning dishes?"

"Good thing we have a dishwasher then," Garrus reminded her. "My old apartment didn't even have one, so all dish cleaning was done by hand."

"Yeah, same with mine in my early military days," Shepard mentioned. "It always dried out my hands even when I wore gloves."

Soon, Garrus was done with putting away groceries (and it turned out he really did get maple syrup) before joining Shepard, sitting on the part of the couch closest to her. "You know… if I didn't know better, I think you're getting used to this domestic lifestyle."

Shepard let out a small laugh. "Well… to be honest, it's a little more overwhelming than it looks. Changing from one lifestyle to another doesn't happen overnight… but I do enjoy the peace it's given me for now."

"Yeah," Garrus sighed. Then, his eyes widened a bit as he remembered something. "Hey, I've been meaning to mention this for a while. For the past month, every time I went into town, the strangest thing would happen."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Shepard questions with a curious glance.

Garrus wasn't sure how to explain it really, but he decided to try the best he could. "Well, like today, the whole time I was in town, this strange, black creature just kept following me around."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Black creature?"

"Yeah. Couldn't be taller than my ankle, well, maybe taller than that, I can't remember at the moment. But the entire time until I left to come home, it would walk maybe between five to ten feet behind me just… staring at me or something. Normally, I would say it was fascinated by my own species since this is a most-human town, but the thing is, I'm not the only turian around this part of Earth."

"Can you describe this… black creature?" Shepard asked.

"Let's see… it had a long tail that would flick once in a while-"

"It didn't have white stripes on its back and head, did it?" Shepard asked suddenly.

Garrus stared at her for a moment, a bit taken aback by her sudden outburst. "No, or else I would've mentioned it was black and white instead. Why?"

"Okay, if you ever see one and it has a REALLY strong fowl musk that's similar to burnt rubber, _stay away_. They're called skunks and they release that same stench if you get too close. You have to take special measures to get the smell off of you and then you'll be surrounded by that smell for days."

"I'll… try to remember that," Garrus said. "Anyway, the creature I saw had these yellow eyes that kind of reminded me of a female turian. And once in a while, it would open its mouth and make this really strange noise."

Shepard was curious now. "What kind of noise?"

"I don't know, like…" Garrus tried to think, but he was coming up blank. "I don't know."

Shepard suddenly smirked. "Oh come on, I'm sure you remember that noise. Just… try to make that sound. I guarantee it would help me identify what you saw."

"Shepard… I am not going to try to sound like that thing I saw today. And to be frank, I forgot."

"Sure," Shepard teased.

"Now, about that slow cooker…" Garrus started to say, deciding to change the subject.

"I ordered two since it was on special," Shepard mentioned. "One for my meals and one for yours, then they can be cooked at the same time."

"Makes it easier, huh?"

"Heck yeah."

* * *

Two days later, Garrus went a mile down the road to drop off a newly modded rifle to his 'next-door' neighbor. A few days ago, when he and Shepard went to the town bar after their shooting contest, Shepard mentioned seeing an asari and a male quarian couple in the bar since it was pairing neither of them had ever seen until then.

Turned out the couple was their 'next-door' neighbor. When they came over to the cabin to place their order, Shepard asked them their story;

Meela Ganba was a civilian medical student who was born and raised on the Citadel, an outcast as a child because she was a pureblood. Her father was a commando who died during the fight against Sovereign. Her mother, a shopkeeper on Tayseri Ward, didn't make it off the Citadel before Cerberus had taken over the station. As far as she knew, her mother had died on that ward.

Her bondmate of less than a year was Trey'Ganba vas Earth nar Tesleya, who was on his pilgrimage at the time the war started. Like Meela, Trey was an outcast even before his ventured onto to the Citadel due to his sympathy for the geth. Despite the galaxy-wide call for all quarian pilgrims to return to the Migrant Fleet, Trey remained on the Citadel feeling that he would be more help to the refugees there.

The two met and fell in love in the camps. After Thessia's fall, Meela and Trey were asked to take the shuttles up to the ships to see to the refugees there since there was pretty much no more room left on the Citadel. There were both on a commando ship when the Citadel was taken over. They were on the same commando ship as it rushed to assist Earth.

Needless to say, they both survived, but like everyone still in the Sol system in the aftermath, they were stranded. The two made the best of things before a friend of Meela's recommended settling in this town rather than stay at the camps. Meela had decided to take the offer more for Trey's health (although nothing was wrong, she still had concerns). The two married in an asari bonding ceremony not long after.

The couple was a little shy when Garrus and Shepard first met them, but Shepard always had a way of making people warm up to her, so by the end of the conversation, Meela and Trey found that they could talk to the two heroes easily even after feeling a little intimidated when they first approached the house.

It was Meela who greeted Garrus at the door, a smile upon her violet face after she opened the door. "Hi Garrus," she greeted.

"Hey Meela," Garrus replied. He raised the case up into view that contained Meela's rifle. "The mods are in and your gun is ready to go."

"Great, thank you!" Meela said excitedly as she took the case into her hand. "How much do I owe you?"

"Let's see, you already put down the down payment so all you owe is one hundred credits. Remember, 25% of the proceeds go in helping with the recovery efforts."

Meela smiled at the reminder. "I have the credit chit on my desk, just give me a moment." With that, she went inside her house to retrieve the money.

She had left the door open, but despite that, Garrus stayed on the porch. For one thing, she didn't necessarily invite him in so he thought it would've been rude anyway. Plus he wasn't sure what kind of living requirements Trey needed (though he guessed there was at least one clean room somewhere inside), so the last thing he wanted to do was to bring in any unnecessary germs into the house.

With his mind somewhere else, the same sound he remembered from two days ago in town startled Garrus with a small jump. He turned around and, at first, he thought he was imagining it… then he looked down. Standing a few feet away at the edge of the porch stairs was the same black creature that has been following him around for a while. It was sitting down with its long tail flicking a little behind his back

Garrus tilted his head at it. "What do you want?" he asked even though he was pretty sure it wouldn't reply.

"Here's your credit," Meela said as she stepped through the door behind him. She stopped for a moment as she noticed him staring at something. When the asari turned to see what he was looking at, she couldn't help but grin.

"Ah, I see you've met the town cat," she said with a chuckle.

Garrus looked at her with confusion. "Is that what it's called? A town cat?"

"Well, just cat actually," Meela explained. "We only call him the town cat because he's been seen roaming around here for the past few months, specifically after the war. He's usually pretty shy unless you give him food."

"Do you give him food?"

"Sometimes, but the thing is… I'm only standing here with a credit chit and I actually don't have any food to give him right now." She had to smile at the turian next to her. "So… I'm finding it fascinating that he's taken an interest in you."

"And why would he?" Garrus asked curiously.

Meela can only shrug. "As the humans say… beats me."

That was when Garrus felt something against his legs. He looked down and was surprised to see the cat brushing himself against his legs. He could only stare as it moved around his feet. The cat would brush against a leg, look up for a moment, then do it again. At the same time, Garrus would hear a strange noise coming from the cat that reminded him of a motor.

Meela chuckled at the site. "Yeah, I think he likes you," she said just as the cat propped its front paws onto Garrus' leg spur, his golden eyes staring up again.

After a moment, Garrus turned to Meela. "I should go, but if you have any questions or concerns about the upgrades, let me know."

"I will thank you. Have a good day, Garrus."

"You too, Meela. And tell Trey I said hello."

With that, Garrus headed back to the sky car. Once he reached the door, he was curious and turned around. He wasn't surprised to see that the cat followed him.

He went into the driver seat and closed the door. The cat no longer followed and was now sitting a few feet away from the vehicle. Once again, his golden eyes stared until Garrus left the premises.

A few minutes later, he was back at the cabin. On the front door was a large package and Garrus realized that the slow cookers Shepard ordered was here. ' _She must've got the fastest shipping,_ ' Garrus thought as he picked up the box before going inside.

"How heavy are these things?" Garrus called out after noticing Shepard watching the news in the living room.

Shepard turned her head after shutting the TV off. "I ordered two, so their combined weight would do that."

Garrus went into the kitchen to drop the box onto the table before taking out a knife to cut the packaging tape. Once he got it open, Shepard joined him in the kitchen to get a better look at her order.

"Hmm," Shepard hummed. "This reminds me… I need to go on a diet."

"What for?" Garrus asked confused.

"I'm getting fat," Shepard replied. "I know I needed to gain some weight after my time in the hospital, but you know I finally reached my ideal weight three months ago. Today, I went on the scale and noticed I've gained about eight pounds since then."

"First, remind me to throw that scale out of the closest airlock," Garrus said. "Second, so what if you did gain a few pounds? What was it Liara said to Wrex once… there's just more of the legend to love?"

Shepard lightly slapped Garrus' arm teasingly. "Flatterer."

Garrus then pulled her towards him before nuzzling his face into the side of the head. "I like, it actually. I was just thinking how much softer you've been lately."

"Don't get _too_ used to it," Shepard warned him. She then decided to change the subject. "So how's Trey and Meela?"

"Trey wasn't home, most likely working at the hospital," Garrus replied. "But Meela's doing well. She was happy to receive the upgrades."

"Good."

"Oh, and that black creature came back."

Shepard moved a bit to stare up at him. "The one you saw the other day?"

Garrus nodded. "Meela told me it was a cat."

Shepard's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Hey, I was trying to describe it the other day."

"You've could've mentioned it having pointy ear, that would've been my ultimate clue."

"Well I changed the subject by then." Garrus took a moment to clear his throat. "Anyway, he actually came up to me-"

"He?"

"Meela kept saying the cat was a 'he.' Anyway, he would come up to me and rub against my ankles and was making this really weird motor noise."

"Sounds like he was purring," Shepard replied. "If I remember correctly, that's a good thing."

"I see," Garrus said. "He tried to follow me back to the car, and, well, that was pretty much it. By the way, do you have any idea why the cat would brush against my legs?"

Shepard shrugged. "No idea. I've never owned a cat in my life. All I know are the stereotypes."

"What kind of stereotypes?"

Shepard sat down on the chair at the kitchen table. "Let's see… they scratch on the furniture, they love chasing these little creatures called mice, they like to play with yarn, they love to eat fish, they don't get along with dogs, they always land on their feet when they fall, and they hate baths. That's just from the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more.

"That's quite a few stereotypes," Garrus replied. "And people can keep them as pets?"

"Yup. They can be either domesticated or feral. I think it depends on their environment or something like that."

As Garrus began to take out the first of the two slow cookers, Shepard had an idea. "Say, since we got these slow cookers now, I think it would be a good idea to buy some more meat from the market in the morning. I wouldn't mind starting up the first slow cooked meal once we get home."

Garrus shrugged. "Sure, we can do that."

* * *

The next morning, Shepard and Garrus went to both the levo and dextro market. Both stores were located just three doors down from each other. It was always easier to buy food when the both of them went together. They could carry more back to the house once they were back.

They first went to the dextro store and, after putting everything in the trunk, they went over to the levo store. At one point, Shepard was deciding on which brand of paper plates to buy. While he waited, Garrus looked on the other side and noticed the row of pet food judging by the pictures of different animals.

While Shepard was distracted, Garrus scanned the area and stopped once he saw a picture of a cat that looked similar to the one that was following him. He scanned the bag with his omni-tool to translate the words, making sure that it really was cat food. Then, without thinking about it, he picked up the bag

By then, Shepard had decided on what paper plates to get and was just putting it in the basket when Garrus put the bag he picked out right next to it. Shepard gave him a peculiar look.

"Garrus… you know that's cat food, not human food."

"I know."

"We don't have a cat."

"I know."

Shepard grinned suddenly. "Is that for that cat who keeps following you around?"

"Um… maybe."

Shepard chuckled at that. "Okay, if you're going to get that, you might want to buy a bowl to store it in."

"Why not use the bowls we have at home?"

"Because I don't want to use those." Shepard went over to the pet accessories section where the pet dishes were kept. She eventually found one that was white with blue line drawings of cartoon-looking fishes. "Besides, these bowls are made specifically for cats. As a matter of fact, you'll need two… one for the food and one for water."

Garrus watched as Shepard picked up two identical bowls before placing it in the cat. "Well, all right then."

Later that night, Garrus found himself enjoying the best dextro dinner he had in a long time. Not that Shepard was that bad of a cook or anything, but there was something about a dextro meal in a slow cooker that made not only was the meat juicy, but made it fall off the bones with ease. Afterwards, Garrus took the new cat dishes to the porch, filled them with the cat food and water, and then he went back inside for the night.

The next morning, the dishes were empty, but whether it was the black cat that had his dinner or some other animal (like that skunk Shepard mentioned), he wasn't sure. Either way, he went back inside with the dishes to clean them.

As the day began to turn to dusk, Garrus had just set the filled dishes on the porch again. The weather was pleasantly warm and contained a soft breeze, so Garrus decided to set on the wicker chair on the porch to enjoy it, taking a couple of uploaded datapads with him to read over. Meanwhile, Shepard was just setting up the sides for tonight's dinner to be cooked in the oven while the main meals cooked in the two slow cookers again.

Not even a half hour later after settling down, Garrus heard very light footsteps coming up the steps. He looked up from his datapad just in time to see the black cat making his way over to the filled dishes.

Garrus decided to watch him for a moment, putting the datapad down on the outdoor table next to him before leaning forward to get a better look. The cat slowly approached the two dishes. First, it seemed to sniff a bit at the food before switching over to the water. Eventually, he settled with the water and began to lap it up with his little pink tongue.

Cute was the only word the turian could think of at the moment. He was almost fascinated by how quickly the cat's tongue moved as he drank his water.

After a few minutes of this, the cat seemed to be finished with his water. Garrus had thought that he would move on to his food dish at this point. Instead, he happened to turn his head, staring at Garrus briefly before he approached the turian.

"Hey," Garrus said to the cat as it stopped in front of his feet. "You keep following me around. Usually when someone follows me, they want to kill me."

As though in reply, the cat approached him and began to brush itself on Garrus' legs, the motor - no - purring sounds being heard. At one point, the cat nudged his head into his calf just next to his spur.

Garrus then reached a hand and brushed his gloved fingers over the cat just between the shoulder blades. His fur felt almost similar to Shepard's, only much shorter and not as silky. Most likely, it was from lack of cleaning unless the fur was meant to be that way, he wasn't sure.

The cat noticed that he was being petted, so he moved so that Garrus ended up petting the top of the head. His purring became even louder.

"You like that?" Garrus asked him. This went on for about a minute before the cat came closer. Then, Garrus became startled as the cat suddenly jumped onto his lap.

"Whoa," he yelped, but soon relaxed once nothing else happened. The cat then stretched its front paws out to his chest before pulling up so that his golden eyes were nearly in Garrus' face.

Garrus chuckled as he began to pet the cat's back. "Well, hello to you too."

The cat sniffed at him before it suddenly became fascinated by the dropping ends of his mandibles. Picking the one on the right, the cat batted his paw at it a couple of times before he started to nip at it.

"Hey!" Garrus said with a laugh, both of his hands on the cat's back to make sure he didn't fall off. "That's not food!"

Then, the front door opened and Shepard stepped out. She was about to speak when she saw the view in front of her. She had to smile as the cat tried to play with Garrus' mandibles and, despite his protests, he couldn't help but laugh.

"So, that's your stalker, huh?" Shepard said as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "I'm almost jealous."

Garrus looked over at Shepard. "At least you don't think my mandibles are a toy."

Shepard could only shake her head, though the smile on her face remained. An idea came to her. "Hey, I want to try something. Come back inside, but leave the door open."

Garrus wasn't sure what she was thinking, but he decided to go along with it. "Okay." He started to lean forward to get up, and it seemed as though the cat took that as a sign to jump back down onto the porch. He then stared up at Garrus as he followed Shepard back into the house.

They only went as far as the living room and watched the front door. A couple of minutes later, the black cat began to slowly cross the threshold, sniffing around the air a bit

"Huh," Shepard said with interest. "I think this one really likes you. Usually, they're shy."

Garrus turned his head to her. "I thought you didn't know anything about cats except the stereotypes."

"Well… any cats I did meet always ran away from me. Their owners would always say, 'oh he's shy,' but I sometimes wonder if it's just me." She looked down at the cat that just began to walk in another foot into the house. "At least this one didn't run away from me… yet.

"Oh, by the way, could you close the bedroom door? I don't want him thinking that my hamster is his dinner."

Garrus chuckled. "Okay," he said before walking to the hallway.

That night until they went to bed, Shepard and Garrus kept the door open for their little visitor. However, the only time the cat left the house was to retrieve the food that was left outside. Garrus realized eventually that leaving it outside was unnecessary, so he brought the dishes in and closed the door.

That night, one window was left open wide enough for the cat to go through if he wanted out (and was rigged with a wire… if an intruder tried to open the window any more than an inch, the wire would snap and set off an alarm). By morning, the cat was gone, only leaving behind two empty dishes.

Shepard saw him jump through the window later that afternoon.

"Guess we have a new pet," she said to herself.

That night after dinner, Shepard and Garrus sat on the couch to watch a salarian stand-up comedy show. Five minutes into it, the cat jumped up on Garrus' lap, turning a bit before lying down, curling itself up into a ball of fur.

When a commercial came on, Shepard turned to look at the cat on her lover's lap. He was watching the commercial, but one hand was absentmindedly brushing a finger gently over the cat's head. The cat's eyes was half-closed, his purring indicated that he was enjoying himself.

"I have a theory about that cat," she suddenly said.

Garrus turned to stare at her. "What kind of theory?"

"I think his last owner was a turian."

Garrus' browridge rose up in reply. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, you told me before that he was usually shy around people unless there's food involved," Shepard explained. "And yet he's nothing like that when it comes to you. I was reading about the differences between domestic and feral cats and… this one's definitely domesticated or else he would've never even come near anyone."

"Hmm," Garrus hummed thoughtfully as he looked down at the ball of fur on his lap. "Meela did mention that he started showing up in the neighborhood after the war. I know some turians settled on Earth for one reason or another before the war, so you might be right that his last owner was a turian. Makes me wonder what happened to him."

Shepard shrugged. "Who knows… but if he's taken a liking to you so quickly, either his original owner looked similar to you, or you had a similar musk to him. That's where my main theory comes from."

"Either way," Garrus said. "He's our newest pet. Now for a name-"

"Felix," Shepard suddenly said with a chuckle.

Garrus stared up at her. "Felix?"

"Yeah, he looks like a Felix. And since he followed you here, I get to name him."

Garrus grinned as he shook his head. "Because that's just _so_ fair."

"Well, now that he's ours, we have to get him some cat stuff, find a vet for his healthcare, _and_ keep him out of the room so that he doesn't get to my hamster. That's a lot more work than it sounds, and since I'm home more… I get to name him."

Garrus raised a free hand in defeat. "Okay, okay, Felix it is."


	8. A Dark Time Not So Long Ago

**7 Months earlier and 4 Months after the end of the Reaper War**

**Toronto**

After what felt like a long shuttle ride from London, Steve Cortez finally landed at the coordinates Admiral Hackett had given him. He managed to land in a busy parking lot, getting the Kodiak as close as possible to the building that was in the coordinates.

There was no question as to how everyone was feeling right now. It had only been four months since the end of the Reaper War and the crew had only returned to Earth just hours ago. They were barely here for a half hour when Hackett informed the group of Shepard's survival (meanwhile, Garrus received a message from Miranda). It didn't take them long to decide to pay Shepard a visit.

Aside from Garrus and Cortez, there was also Joker, Tali, Liara, Kaidan, Vega, Traynor, and Dr. Chakwas. Cortez had noticed the missing presence of the Prothean Javik, and he didn't miss the worried look on Liara's face when she tried to look for him prior to their departure in London. Before they left, Liara had sent Javik a few messages, mainly telling him of Shepard's survival. They were going to see her but didn't want to leave without him. After twenty minutes, a reply came;

' _Leave without me. There is something that I must do. I have a promise to fulfill, one that cannot be abandoned now that the Reapers are dead. Tell the Commander that it has been an honor._ '

The worried look was etched onto Liara's face upon reading that message. Still, despite her worries and what his message may indicate, she encouraged Cortez to head out.

On the way, there was some light banter here and there, mostly between Cortez and Joker over their piloting abilities. It seemed to have lightened the mood a little. However, once their crossed into the North American border, the air became suddenly heavy with both anticipation and anxiety.

Once they landed, Liara immediately sent a message to Miranda Lawson, letting her know that they had arrived. Unsurprising to anyone, Garrus was the first to get out of the shuttle, not bothering to see if the others were following as he headed to the make shift hospital ahead of him.

Just as he reached the entrance, the doors opened and Miranda stepped outside to greet them. She nodded upon seeing the turian. "Garrus."

"Miranda," he nodded back.

"It's good to see you," Miranda continued. "There a few things you need to know. I know you're eager to see after so long, but-"

"Four months to be exact," mentioned Vega once he caught up with Garrus.

Moments later, the others had caught up, all falling quiet as they prepared themselves to hear about their Commander. Briefly, Miranda looked over her surroundings making sure that strangers weren't close enough to hear what she was going to say.

"First of all, I made sure that all of you received clearance to see her. Not many in the galaxy know that she's alive. We're trying to keep it under wraps until we know that she'll pull through."

"What do you mean 'pull through?'" asked Garrus, his voice slightly straining under control.

Miranda took a deep breath before proceeding. "When we found her, she was barely alive and had multiple injuries, most which required surgery. It's possible that she may need more surgery in the future. She is in a coma and we're not sure when she'll wake up."

Miranda's face seemed to soften a little. "Also, I have to warn you… she's… well, because of her injuries and the surgeries, seeing her may be a shock. Once we're there, I'll explain more."

She then waved a hand as she turned around to go back into the building with the others following. Inside was a large space filled with busy doctors and nurses caring for the patients who laid on countless cots and furniture pieces.

"What kind of hospital is this?" asked Tali curiously.

"I think this used to be a department store," explained Kaidan. "They're usually big stores that sell almost everything you can think of… clothes, kitchen items, furniture, those kinds of things."

"He's right," Miranda jumped in. "After the war ended, most hospitals were damaged or destroyed, so they began to use large buildings like this one and turned them into make shift hospitals. Down here is mostly for minor care, those who aren't critical. The upper two floors are where we have patients who need… more attention. The basement is used for procedures like surgery."

They reached what looked like an employee elevator, which were usually larger than elevators that were used for customers. They just managed to get everyone inside before Miranda pressed the button to the third floor.

When the doors opened nearly a minute later, the group stepped out and followed Miranda down the hall. Turning one corner, it wasn't hard to miss two Alliance soldiers standing guard on either side of the doorway.

Once they were a couple of feet away from the door, Miranda stopped to turn to the two guards, both standing at attention. "This is the group Admiral Hackett is allowing access to see Commander Shepard."

"He sent us the message an hour ago with their names," replied one guard. "He also mentioned that they are allowed to visit anything during the day except during medical procedures."

Miranda nodded in thanks before turning her attention to Shepard's crew. "The area you'll be entering is a small hallway and two rooms. She'll be in the last room. It will be a little cramped once you all go in."

Liara placed a hand on Garrus' shoulder. "You go ahead. We'll follow in a little while."

Until that moment, Garrus' mind was blank from any thoughts the second the shuttle landed in the parking lot. He was feeling mostly anxious during the walk, but now he was feeling nervous, knowing now that the woman he loved was so close after four months of separation.

Just a few more steps and he'll be by her side once more…

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he walked through the doorway that led into a little hallway with five chairs lined up along a wall. He figured that this was some kind of little waiting room of sorts. The first door was immediately in front of him, so he walked over to the end of the hallway over to the second door.

Garrus barely took a step into the room before he suddenly stopped.

The room was a little smaller than an average hospital room with a single window overlooking the mostly empty back lot. The walls were painted a light beige color and the floor below clearly once contained a carpet. It had been ripped out, revealing the concrete underneath. Because it was night time, the only source of light in the room was an overhead light above the single bed.

Upon looking at the bed, Garrus drew in a deep breath, seeing the barely recognizable figure of Commander Shepard. There was notable redness on parts of the left side of her face and most of her left arm, indication of burns that were healing. Both of her legs were in a cast and there was a tube that was helping her with breathing. Garrus couldn't begin to count how many of the smaller tubes were connected to her.

Either way, the moment he finally saw her was almost surreal. Despite what he was seeing, what mattered was that she was alive!

After staring for what felt like some time, Garrus spotting a couple of chairs next to the right side of the bed. He moved over to one before sitting down. Once settled, he slowly reached over to gently grasp her hand, being careful to not disturb the tubes in that arm. He wanted to say something, but all he could think of at that moment was how tight his throat was. Even if he tried to speak, he was sure that nothing would come out.

He wasn't sure how much time passed by, but before he knew it, the rest of the crew began to file in as well. Tali sat in the chair next to him and the others quietly made a semi-circle around Shepard's bed.

It was Dr. Chakwas who broke the silence. "What kind of injuries does she have?"

Miranda didn't hesitate to answer. "Shepard was found in the rubble on the Citadel. At the time, she had multiple bone dislocations and fractures in both legs and her hips, five broken ribs on her right side, third degree burns on 45% of her body, her left arm taking the worst of it, and lacerations with some having infections. She also had what looked like a bullet wound on the left side of her stomach, but the burns had closed it up, keeping her from bleeding out. She had skin grafts down and the skin weave will take care of the rest once the grafts heal the burns. Her ribs are completely healed as well as the lacerations."

"How was she found?" asked Traynor.

"Jack and her students from Grissom Academy found her about eight days after the war ended. She knew it was her by the wings tattoo on her right shoulder blade since she tattooed it on for her."

Vega looked up. "Jack found her within eight days? But… why did Hackett tell us she was declared KIA three months after the war ended?"

"At the time, the Alliance didn't see that as proof that it was her. The tattoo was very recent, and I assume Shepard didn't have the chance to add it to her distinguished marking list into her military record. Also, her dog tags were too melted for proper identification. Until two weeks ago, all they knew was that it was a female N7 soldier. The whole time, Jack was trying to track me down to help prove that she was Shepard.

"She finally got in contact and I came here as quickly as possible. My main proof was comparing her recent X-Rays with the ones from the Lazarus project. I showed them to Hackett and it was enough to prove them that this was definitely Shepard. I wanted to contact you, but by then you were on your way to Earth. Hackett also suggest that I hold off until you arrived so you may focus on getting back here."

"Yeah that might've been for the best," said Joker. "I probably would've blown the engine trying to make the Normandy move faster or something."

Some in the room gave Joker sad smiles, unsure whether he was joking or not at this point. It was Cortez who broke the brief silence. "It's… amazing she made it through all that."

"After everything she's been through..." whispered Tali.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" asked Liara.

Miranda frowned. "There's no way for us to tell at this point. Like I said, it's been touch-and-go since day one."

"You've mentioned the improvements of her injuries except her legs and hips," brought up Dr. Chakwas. "What's going on with those?"

No one in the room missed the fact that Miranda took a deep breath. "Her legs were… damaged to the point where the doctors nearly considered amputation. However, one of the surgeons here had suggested an old procedure to add in the bolts and rods to support the bones. She's had multiple surgeries in both legs and it's possible that she may need a couple of more in the future depending on her progress. Her hips have been healing, though we've had to use screws to secure it to the joint connecting her legs. Both joints had been dislocated."

After hearing all of this, Garrus finally managed to speak through the lump in his throat. "What about her upgrades? Wouldn't those have helped with her recovery?"

"The ones in her upper body are fine. However, the ones that were in her legs were shut down, thus why the healing progress is not like the ones from the waist up. My guess was that her legs took enough damage to affect the cybernetics in that area."

"Damn," muttered Vega.

"And honestly," Miranda continued. "I would've already had her legs repaired with the tech we used for Lazarus, but the material used at the time was tech that was only used by Cerberus. They… no longer exist. I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you're doing everything you can to help," said Liara sincerely.

There was more talking from there, but by this point, Garrus didn't bother to listen. Instead, he gave his attention to the woman lying in bed, his hand still holding hers gently.

Eventually, each of the crew spoke with Shepard briefly before departing the room. This went on for about ten minutes until only two people were left. Garrus felt the presence of the other person. Turning his head just enough to see them, he spotting Kaidan at the foot of the bed, a frown on his face and his arms folded in front of him.

Kaidan then took a step towards Garrus before placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you need anything, just let me know."

Garrus only nodded in reply. Kaidan patted his shoulder before moving away, giving Shepard one more quick glance before leaving the room. He would be in the room throughout the night.

At some point, Garrus had fallen asleep, his head resting on the edge of the bed next to Shepard's arm, the beeping noise detecting her heartbeat calming him. He didn't wake up until late in the morning as a nurse came in to replace one of the bags that delivered its content into her body. Food to sustain her, the nurse explained when he inquired.

With the position he laid in, Garrus woke up with a stiff neck and he took a moment to stretch it out. His omni-tool then beeped, indicating an incoming message. With a small sigh, he raised his left arm and activated his omni-tool.

Upon opening his extranet mailbox, Garrus' eyes widened at the amount of messages he received. Most of them were either from Primarch Adrien Victus or from his family (mainly his sister). The newest message came straight from Victus, so he decided to open that up first;

_Garrus –_

_I heard that the Normandy returned yesterday. I hope you get this message. In case the communication network didn't deliver the other messages properly, I'll brief you on what's been going on. I've been here in London since the war ended. With the mass relays still being repaired, many of us are still stranded here. We have started housing those still here just in case we remain here for quite some time, though I've heard from those in Palaven that the relay in Trebia is almost complete, so that is good news. At some point, we'll need to get any dextro food and medical supplies from that region so that our people don't starve._

_We're good on dextro rations for right now. I only hope that they won't be depleted before the relay here is fixed._

_Admiral Hackett had briefed me about Shepard a couple of weeks ago. I am assuming you already know about her survival and that you are with her at this time. After seeing the two of you together in London, I don't doubt the connection you two have. Take this time now to be with her._

_Message me as soon as you get this. It's good to know that you survived the war. You are an exceptional soldier, Vakarian, and I'm proud to know you as both a comrade in arms and a friend._

_-Victus._

Garrus read through the message a couple of more times before sending in his reply.

_Victus-_

_I'm sorry I didn't message you sooner. As you said, I only arrived last night and… a lot happened at once. I'm only catching up with my messages now._

_The Normandy was stranded five systems away from here and it had been a two-week journey from there. If it's all right, I'd like to take some time to clear my head. These last four months have been long, and I'm still trying to comprehend everything that's been happening since the end of the war. I would like to help with the refugees here soon, but I will take your advice and use this time to be by Shepard's side as she recovers._

_I'm only finding out now that you saw the end of this war. It's nice to see good news. I'm proud to have served under you and to call you a friend as well._

_-Garrus_

After sending the message, Garrus noted the latest message from his father, which was date about eight weeks ago. There was one from Solana that was dated just a week ago, but for some reason, he felt compelled to read his father's message first. Solana would probably kill him for that decision later, but it was fun seeing his sister get flustered at stuff like that. With that in mind, he opened up the message;

_Garrus-_

_I understand that communications are down right now, but I can only hope to the spirits that you somehow get this. Please reply as soon as you see this._

_Solana and I managed to survive the end of the war. Like everyone who joined the fight on Earth, we've become stranded since the mass relays were damaged. For now, the best thing we can do is help out here on Earth with the recovery efforts. The dreadnought we were on parked at a spaceport in a city called Osaka. That's where we are now._

_They say you're MIA, but there were witnesses who saw the Normandy fly off with the other ships just before the blast. No one is sure where you ended up, but if there's any way you can contact me or Solana as soon as possible…_

_Like I said, send me a message as soon as you see this._

_-Dad_

Garrus had to sigh a little after reading that. His Dad wasn't one to show worry, but he could sense it just from reading the message alone. Since it was sent two months ago, he could only wonder what his father was thinking about right now after not hearing from him.

He was also reminded that he never told his father about his relationship with Shepard. Solana knew and even his mother knew before she passed away, but as far as knew, Solana never mentioned it to their father. It wasn't like Garrus didn't want to tell his father about them (he had chosen to confide in his mother during one of her good days, and Solana knew even before he told her). It was just something that never came up with all the preparations they did before the war.

Pressing the reply button, Garrus began to send his message.

_Dad-_

_I'm sorry I didn't message you sooner. The Normandy was stranded five systems away from here and we only managed to return to Earth just last night. Communications had been very limited for the past four months._

_I haven't looked at an Earth map yet so I'm not sure where Osaka is. I'm in Toronto and I'll probably be here for a while. Tell Solana I'll message her soon. I'm glad you both made it out okay._

_-Garrus_

Done with messages for now, Garrus shut down his omni-tool. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that things are starting to get better. His family was okay… that was something he knew not a lot of people could say.

Now if only Shepard could wake up…

* * *

Garrus barely noticed the passing of time. His new home for now was in the chair next to Shepard, keeping a vigil in hopes that she'll wake up soon. Sometimes, he would talk to her, mostly updating her on what their friends were up to. He would also read her the messages his family and Victus would send him. And sometimes, he could only watch her in silence, hoping with every fiber in his body that she would pull through.

About two weeks after returning to Earth, the doctors took her in for more surgery on her legs to replace the screws in her knees. Even though it was a routine procedure and that she wasn't in immediate danger, Garrus couldn't help but feel agitated the whole time. Both Liara and Tali had stayed with him in the small waiting room during the long hours. When it was over and Shepard was back in her room, Garrus joined her at her bedside once more. He fell asleep next to her not long afterwards.

Two days later, Garrus was stunned to see two familiar visitors walk into the room.

"There you are!" Solana called out the minute she walked into the room.

Garrus' eyes widened more out of surprise than anything. "Hey. How did you-"

"Wasn't hard to find you," Solana said as she sat in the empty chair next to him. She then reached over to grasp his hand, giving it a brief squeeze. "I'm glad you saw the end of this war."

Garrus return the squeeze. "Glad you made it out, too. How did you find me?"

By then, their father, Castis Vakarian, had entered the room. He decided to stand on the other side of the bed. Garrus noticed that he stood tall like he always had, but there was weariness that etched on his face. His father indeed looked older.

Castis spoke after a moment of silence. "Victus told us you would be here. He spoke to Admiral Hackett, who in turn gave us clearance to visit. From what I understand, you, uh, barely left your Commander's side since your return."

Garrus' mandibles twitched at that. His father's voice had remained neutral at that statement, so he couldn't really guess what he was thinking at the moment. It was something Castis was always good at. Either way, Garrus had a feeling that Victus… or Solana, he wasn't sure… let it slip about what Shepard meant to him.

Solana spoke up before Garrus had the chance to say anything. "The shuttle ride from Osaka was, well… I've never seen such a big ocean before. Our shuttle pilot turned on the outside cameras, so we saw nothing but blue. It was a relief when we finally saw land."

Garrus realized he hadn't had the chance to look up where Osaka was. Bringing up his omni-tool, he mapped it out and saw that the city was part of a country called Japan, which was mostly surrounded by water. He then noticed the large body of water, the map calling it the Pacific Ocean.

"Huh, doesn't look that big from the map," Garrus mumbled.

Solana snorted at that. "Tell me about it. But either way… here we are."

"We'll most likely remain here for a while," Castis mentioned. "Despite the devastation, Osaka has a lot of help, so your sister and I thought we could assist here since there seems to be less help compared to where we were before."

Garrus nodded. "Okay."

For a long while afterwards, no one said a word, unsure of what to say. Then, Castis spoke. "Solana… could you see if you could get us something to eat? I'm sure they have something over at the refugee camp."

Solana seemed to hesitate for a moment, but seeing the knowing look in her father's eyes, she complied. "Sure. I'll see what I can get my hands on." She briefly patted Garrus' shoulder. "I'll be back."

Garrus nodded before Solana departed. Once she was out of sight, Castis walked over to the now empty chair that Solana occupied moments ago. The two men didn't say a word for a while and simply kept a silent vigil at Shepard's bedside.

"At first," Castis soon began to say quietly. "… I thought she was like all the other Spectres, and for a while, I had firmly believed that she was trying to take you away from your duty." He inhaled deeply. "But now… after everything, I realized that I was wrong."

Garrus' brow plates rose up at that. He remembered a time as a child when there were certain things he wished his father would say. One of them was to admit when he was wrong. Castis was always firm with his beliefs. To hear him admit that he was wrong now took him aback, but only briefly, probably because he never expected to hear it in his lifetime.

Garrus said nothing as Castis proceeded. "From everything you've told me to all of the positive accounts I've heard after the war, I realized that she was different. She never put herself ahead of anyone, and I admire her dedication and sacrifice to see the end of this war."

Castis then gently placed a hand on Garrus' shoulder. "And… I appreciate the things she was able to teach you and to help you become the turian that you are now." His next sentence fell into a whisper. "I am so proud of you, Garrus."

Since returning to Earth, Garrus had mostly kept his emotions in check, his mind thinking of some of the better times he had with Shepard. Somehow, his father's last sentence suddenly pulled those feelings out to the surface, partially because it was another thing he wanted to hear his father say since childhood. The other part was because he wondered if Shepard would ever pull through.

His body shaking, Garrus covered his face with both of his hands, muffling the soft keen that emerged from his throat. His father's hand remained on his shoulder and he noticed that his fingers tightened in reassurance.

"I just want her to wake up…" he breathed.

"I know," Castis replied quietly.

After a minute, Garrus managed to get himself under control. He slowly removed his hands from his face before reach one to grasp Shepard's hand. "How… how did you do it… with Mom…"

Castis sighed. "It wasn't easy, especially when it got worse. Eventually, I could only be by her side, waiting for the inevitable. But son… take comfort in knowing that she has a chance to make it."

He knew his next words were ones he was sure his son wouldn't want to hear, but they had to be voiced. "Garrus… if… she doesn't pull through this… I need you to promise me that you won't let this consume you."

Castis noticed Garrus turning to him, and he knew he was going to say something, but the older turian spoke again before his son had the chance. "I don't want you running off to Omega again. Also… it was hard enough losing your mother. I can't lose you, too."

Garrus turned away to look at Shepard. He remained quiet before he finally nodded. "Okay… I promise."

* * *

For three weeks after Garrus' family arrived, not all that much changed… well, except for the fact that Solana had joined Tali in her daily mission to make sure that Garrus ate something. In a way, it was good that it was mostly rations because Garrus barely noticed the taste.

One day, Castis showed up at the same time Solana and Tali did. He convinced his son to come out for a few hours to at least look over the refugee camp, or at least get some fresh air. It was freezing outside that day and the ground was snow-covered after a light storm came over the city just a couple of days ago, so Garrus had declined at first.

"Come on Garrus, you need to leave for a little bit," Tali said. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll stay with her until you come back."

Garrus realized that he wasn't going to win the argument and finally decided to go. He stood up from his chair. "Message me if anything happens."

Tali nodded before he departed. He only stopped momentarily to look at Shepard when he reached the door before following his family out of the hospital.

At the camp, Garrus saw a sight he knew Shepard would have been proud of… seeing all the different species working together. The camp he was at was primarily turian, but he noticed many of the other races helping out; human, asari, salarian, and even the krogan were there to keep guard of the camp. There was also a handful of quarians and there was even a couple of volus and hanar. Most of them were those who came to fight in the final battle, mainly waiting for the relays to reopen so they can go home. In the meantime, they were assisting with recovering Toronto. Though the city wasn't as hard hit as places like London, it still suffered a considerable amount of damage.

Seeing all of this had stirred some guilt within Garrus. He was sure that Shepard would have wanted him to help out at places like this while she was in the hospital. Even so, he couldn't help but remain with her.

He was definitely a bad turian.

Garrus decided to at least get an idea of where the camp was at with recovery efforts. From there, he would try to figure what he could do to help.

However, two hours after arriving, he received a priority message from Tali. Castis had heard the omni-tool go off and he didn't miss the wide-eyed look in Garrus' eyes. He stood next to his son as he pressed a button on his omni-tool to see the message;

' _Come back to the hospital! She's awake!_ '

To think that this was the one time he left the hospital for more than a half hour…

"Go," Castis encouraged. "I'll come by some time tomorrow."

Garrus nodded before making a run back to the make-shift hospital, not stopping until he was at the door. Once inside, he took a moment to catch his breath before he began to head up to the third floor.

Upon reaching the small hall that led to Shepard's room, Tali waited for him by the door. Behind her mask, Garrus noticed that Tali's glowing eyes were shaped like crescent moons, and he guessed that she was smiling.

"There you are," the quarian said once he reached her. "There's a nurse in there checking her over, but you can go on in."

Garrus nodded. "Thanks."

Tali seemed to sigh. "I'm sorry… I wouldn't have encouraged you to leave if I knew she would wake up."

Garrus placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. At least she wasn't alone."

Tali nodded before she moved away from the door. Garrus then walked into the room before she returned to her place at the door frame. He noticed that the bed, which was previously flat, was now slightly raised. The one nurse was checking her vitals through the machines and making notes on her datapad. However, Garrus was confused as to why Shepard's eyes were closed.

The human nurse noticed the confusion on his face as he stared at her. "She's exhausted," she explained. "She'll most likely be in and out of sleep for the next few days. She won't be able to speak for a bit since she still has the breathing tube."

Garrus only nodded as he sat himself in his usual spot. He then reached for her hand and gave it a gently squeeze. Leaning closer to her, his said her given name aloud.

He nearly fell off his chair the second Shepard fluttered her eyes open. She turned slightly so that she was facing him. Once he was in her sights, her eyes widened for a moment, and Garrus didn't miss the tears that quickly filled them.

"Hey, it's okay," Garrus whispered as he rested his forehead on hers. In reply, Shepard closed her eyes, her browed furrowed in an attempt to hold back her tears. "The Reapers are gone and the galaxy is safe." He gave her a kiss on her temple. He then noticed a lone tear had slipped from one of Shepard's eyes and he gently wiped it away with a talon. "I'm here… I'm not going anywhere."

Garrus knew from this day forward that everything was going to be okay…

Shepard would sleep through most of the first week, and Garrus took advantage of every moment that her eyes were open. He mostly talked about what the others were doing, his family, and what was going on with recovery. He did inform her about the mass relays and how they were currently being repaired.

One afternoon, Shepard was well enough to use her omni-tool to communicate. Using a notepad app, she wrote out her first words;

' _This breathing tube sucks._ '

Garrus had to chuckle at that. "I know, but it's only for another couple of more days."

Shepard rolled her eyes at that before writing, ' _I hate hospitals. Let's plan a grand escape._ '

Garrus patted her hand. "You let me know what you come up with."

Shepard rolled her eyes again. She then seemed to have thought of something before writing again. ' _The Illusive Man's dead… talked the bastard into shooting himself. Now that's déjà vu for you._ '

Not sure what 'déjà vu' means, Garrus quickly looked it up. It was some expression that meant 'the experience of thinking that a new situation had occurred before.' He knew she meant Saren in this case and the meaning definitely sounded right.

Shepard then wrote again. ' _I was sitting next to Anderson when he died…_ '

That was new to Garrus. He knew that Anderson was found on the Citadel along with an unknown burnt body (he figured that was The Illusive Man). It made him wonder what had happened between the three of them up on the Citadel on that fateful day. He was sure she'll let him know someday.

Garrus gently took her hand. "I'm sorry Shepard. He was a good man. They, um, already held a funeral for him in London. Hackett mentioned wanting to have a memorial service for him in the future."

Shepard sadly nodded. She then wrote, ' _That's all I remember before I woke up here._ '

She didn't write anything for a while, their attention turned to the TV that was playing in the room.

Shepard then pulled her hand away and began writing again. Garrus watched the TV for a moment until she stopped. He then turned to see her next message.

' _I love you_.'

He felt a lump develop in his throat, but he forced himself to swallow it down before leaning his forehead onto hers. "I love you, too," he whispered, his voice cracking a little. "I… I'm sorry I didn't say it enough…" He felt a keen trying to escape his throat, but he managed to swallow it down.

Shepard reached her hand to caress her fingers onto his cheek. Then, she wrote in reply. ' _I've always known… knowing was enough for me._ '

Lost for words, Garrus carefully wrapped his arms around her before holding her close to him. He felt Shepard enclose her own arms around him, and the two remained in silence, content in just being in each other's embrace.

* * *

**Present Day, more than 11 Months after the end of the Reaper War**

It was another sleepless night for Garrus… however, it was better than falling asleep and waking up to yet another nightmare.

Still, he couldn't help but think about those first few weeks he was at Shepard's side at the hospital. Thinking about it made him realize that he was more emotional during that time than he ever was even through childhood. However, it was like Solana said… he was in love.

Turning his head, he saw Shepard lying on her side facing towards him, her slow breaths indicating that she was in a deep sleep. Sometimes, it was hard to believe that those first few months ever happened. Now that they were living the domestic life while recovering from the war, Shepard's time in the hospital seemed so long ago, though it really wasn't.

Even so, there were still long roads ahead not just for her, but for him as well. Aside from the physical healing for her, they were both dealing with the flashbacks and reminders of their time as soldiers. The things they had seen, the decisions they had to make, and the dark moments they had to endure was not something anyone could get over overnight. Some things would be dealt with in time, but some may stay with them for the remainder of their lives even as they go through their day-to-day routine.

On nights like this when he couldn't sleep, Garrus would experience his own flashbacks just as Shepard was dealing with her own. Some nights, it was about his time in Omega. Some nights, it was over some of the cases in his days at C-Sec that shook him to the core. Other nights, it involved the two times he had thought that Shepard was dead. Tonight, it was about those first few weeks at the hospital. Until she woke up, Garrus had wondered whether or not she would ever pull through in the end.

However, despite dealing with post-traumatic stress in the aftermath of the Reaper War, Garrus believed that after everything they've experienced, he was sure that the darkest moments were over. There was sure to be more challenges ahead of them no doubt, but nothing will be as tough as their fight against the Reapers and the immediate aftermath.

Times like this, Garrus had to remind himself that the best thing he and Shepard can do was to live for today. It was something he learned during the war.

With that in mind, Garrus moved closer to Shepard before carefully wrapping his arms around her small frame, his chin resting on top of her head. He heard her mumble something in her sleep, but eventually he felt her relax against him.

With Shepard in his arms, listening to her soft breathing, and her scent surrounding him, it helped to ease Garrus into a more restful sleep.


	9. The Invite

**Citadel, Nearly a Year Ago…**

_Despite the pain coursing through her body, Shepard managed to move enough so that she sat herself next to Admiral David Anderson. Leaning back on the step behind her, she watched as the Citadel arms opened. Soon, the Crucible would dock, and soon this war they've been fighting will finally end._

" _Commander," Anderson managed to say._

_Shepard turned her head to him. "We did it."_

_Anderson seemed to nod at that as they looked at the view of Earth in front of them. "Yes, we did. It's, um…" He cleared his throat. "Quite a view."_

_If she wasn't in pain, Shepard would have laughed in agreement. The soft laugh she did make caused her to grunt a little. "Best seats in the house."_

_Anderson took a deep breath. "God… feels like years since I just… sat down."_

_Shepard turned to him. "I think you've earned the rest." She frowned as she noticed him struggling to keep his eyes open, a grunt escaping his throat. "Stay with me, Anderson. We're almost through this."_

_She could tell that Anderson was trying to keep them open, but his eyelids were clearly heavy to him. He managed another deep breath before speaking again. "You did good, child. You did good. I'm… proud of you."_

_She closed her own eyes briefly. "Thank you, sir." She looked at him again and noticed that his eyes were closed and his head was tilted downward. He was no longer breathing. "Anderson?"_

* * *

Shepard's eyes snapped open, her body jolting from her sleep. For a few seconds, her mind was still hazy from the dream she just had… her final moments with her mentor and friend, the one who took her under his wing throughout most of her Alliance career.

Once her vision cleared, Shepard took some deep breaths to calm herself down. Sitting up in her bed, she noticed that daylight was peeking through the curtains of her bedroom. Looking around, she saw that Garrus was not occupying his side of the bed. It didn't take long for her to hear the shower running in the master bathroom.

Shepard did what she could to push her dream into the back of her mind, focusing instead on taking the hairbrush that sat on her nightstand and brushing her hair of any tangles that occurred in her sleep. Just as she finished, her omni-tool beeped. She put the brush down on the table and picked up the bracelet before placing it on her left wrist.

Opening her omni-tool, she saw that it was a priority vid-call from Admiral Steven Hackett. That made her raise an eyebrow, mostly wondering why he was calling. Looking down at herself, Shepard was glad that she didn't answer the call right away. She wasn't exactly… presentable.

For the next few minutes, Shepard took a moment to put on her bra and a decent shirt before sitting herself down on one of the chairs in the room facing the window. At least from here, the chair was tall enough to provide a nice background.

Pressing the button to activate the vid-call, the screen popped up, revealing Hackett's face. The war had left him looking older, especially in the past year, but Shepard supposed anyone who faced the brunt of this war came out of it with more than a few wears and tears. Aside from looking older, Hackett looked just about the same with the same demeanor and the same scars.

"Admiral Hackett," Shepard began, raising her right arm in a salute.

"At ease, formality is unnecessary, Shepard ," Hackett replied, a rare smirk on his face. "How are you?"

Well, that was new. Usually, if Hackett called, he would either talk business or update her on certain statuses before having an informal conversation. That was rare in itself. Either way, Shepard went along with it.

"I'm doing fine, sir. How are you?"

"Good," Hackett answered with enthusiasm. "We're still rebuilding around the galaxy, but I think the hardest part of it is over. The first six months were mainly focused on care for the refugees, clearing debris, and repairing the mass relays. These days, the actually rebuilding of our cities is started to come underway. It's an amazing thing to see… some of us were sure that a united galaxy would only be seen during the war. Yet, the unification remains as we rebuild."

Shepard remembered a few words that a CEO she met named Jonah Ashland had said to her once: _If we win this thing, the galaxy is going to be a pretty great place._

"So there's not a lot of trouble then?" Shepard asked.

"There have been pockets of criminal activity here and there and we still get reports of leftover Cerberus troops," Hackett explained. "The Council has most of their surviving Spectres taking care of them as well as any available soldiers to make sure that all recovery efforts run smoothly."

Shepard nodded. "Good to hear."

"Speaking of recovery, how is yours going?"

Shepard shrugged a little. "Slow."

"I can only imagine how much you're itching to get back out there to fight," Hackett said.

Shepard laughed a little. "At times I do, especially when I hear some of what's been happening when I watch the Alliance News Network. At other times, I do enjoy the peace. Still…"

Hackett's smirk grew bigger. "I assume civilian life doesn't happen overnight."

Shepard chuckled. "No, sir."

"That's what I thought. But remember, Shepard, you did the biggest job in the Reaper War. You saw through the end of this. As you already know, uniting the galaxy has helped us all in the long run, especially with rebuilding."

Rebuilding… that reminded Shepard about a rumor Garrus told her about not too long ago.

"I don't know if this is something's that classified or just a rumor, but I've been getting word that it's possible that Shalta Ward may be reopening soon. Are you able to confirm those rumors?"

"It is classified from the general public," Hackett explained. "But yes, Shalta Wards recovery is almost complete. It received the least amount of damage from the Crucible blast. Mostly, it had been clearing debris… bodies… and patching things up along with getting communication, electricity, and any else vital to running the ward again. The reason we haven't said anything to the general public yet is because we want to make sure with one-hundred percent certainty that Shalta Ward is habitable."

"Understandable."

"If all goes well, Shalta will be reopened within the next couple of months."

"What about the other wards?"

"We think Kithoi Ward will follow a few months later, and we also think that we may have the Presidium running again within the next six months. As for the other wards, Zakera is going to take some time to rebuild. We're still clearing out debris and… the remains of the dead on that ward. Bachjet will also take time, especially since the edge of that ward broke off. It's salvageable at least and only a few blocks on that ward went with that broken half."

Hackett then frowned before proceeding. "Tayseri got the worst of it. That ward not only broke in half, but that broken half was nearly obliterated. Getting that back together is going to take a while. We're talking possibly a few years. And even then, who knows if it'll be considered habitable again. There were survivors on the Citadel after the blast, but… as far as we can tell, anyone who was on Tayseri at the time of the blast didn't make it out."

Shepard found herself frowning at this news, and Hackett noticed it. "Whatever you did up there that day, Shepard, it wasn't your fault all those people and the geth died. None of us knew what the Crucible was capable of and what kind of devastation it would leave in its wake."

Shepard forced herself to give Hackett a neutral face. "Yes, sir."

Hackett nodded. "Good. Now for the reason I called."

Here we go.

"As you know, three weeks from today will be the one year anniversary of the end of the Reaper War."

Shepard's eyes widened at that. Has it really been that long? Then again, the first five months were in a coma, so it felt like less than a year to her.

Hackett continued. "There's a section in London that's complete. It has a recreational park that's been cleared and replanted. It happens to be in the neighborhood where Anderson grew up."

Shepard sucked in a breath upon hearing Anderson's name. She wondered, in a way, if the dream she had about her final moments with the Admiral was merely a coincidence or some strange premonition.

"In short, Shepard, the Alliance is putting up a memorial for Anderson in the park and we'll be holding a service for him the day before the war's anniversary. The Alliance and I would like for you to be there."

Shepard was about to reply when Hackett spoke again. "I do have to warn you that the media will be present during the service."

That closed her mouth, now feeling a little uneasy at knowing that the media will be at the service. She couldn't help but remember her encounter with that reporter on her last trip to Toronto.

"If I may ask, why is the Alliance allowing the media to be there?" Shepard questioned.

"To be honest, it wasn't my idea," Hackett explained with a shake of his head. "The higher ups figured that this will let the galaxy know what he's done during the war. Plus, inviting selected media aside from ANN will be less of a hassle in the long run."

Shepard sighed. "I can't help but wonder if my presence there will overshadow the service."

"I won't lie, it's possible," Hackett agreed. "But this is not an order. This is an invitation, so you have the choice of whether you want to go or not."

Shepard was quiet for a moment, looking down at her lap. On one hand, the last thing she wanted was for her presence to overshadow the service, as she mentioned. On the other hand, it was these kinds of events and services Anderson hated. The Alliance tended to put their fallen up on a pedestal, more interested in talking about their heroics rather than the person they were. He would want her to be there so that she could tell the galaxy the kind of person he was rather than the things he's done.

Even with that in mind, Shepard still felt hesitant. Knowing that the media was going to be there no matter what didn't sit well for her.

"Shepard?" Hackett spoke through her thoughts, waiting for answer.

Shepard sighed. "I… need to think about this if that's okay."

Hackett nodded in understanding. "All right. I'll give you forty-eight hours to decide. The reason for the time limit is because the Alliance needs to figure out how many people are attending. I'll contact you then.

"Oh, and let Vakarian know that he's invited as well. Give him my regards. Hackett out."

Shepard shut off the vid-call once that was done. With another sigh, she leaned back into the chair, gazing out at the window in front of her. Summer had just begun not too long ago, and it wasn't hard to miss some of the activities out on the lake. Ducks hung around the edge of the water and the small dock behind their house. She also noticed a couple of humans setting up a canoe on the other side of the lake. She wondered if they were just canoeing or going out to catch some fish.

She was admiring the view, feeling somewhat peaceful that she didn't hear Garrus come out of the bathroom. He eventually caught her attention as he sat down on the other chair next to her.

"Hey," Shepard said.

"Hey," Garrus replied. "I heard you talking while I was drying off."

"That was Admiral Hackett on vid call."

"Ah. How is he?"

"Good, just overlooking the rebuilding process. We, um… we've been invited to Anderson's memorial service in London. It'll take place the day before the anniversary of the war."

"I see," Garrus said. "Did you… want to go?"

Shepard sighed. "On one hand, the media will be there. I'm not sure if publicity will be a good thing. Technically, it'll be my first 'official public appearance.'" She had air quoted the last three words. "And the last thing I want is for my presence to overshadow the service."

"Have you told Hackett your concerns?"

"Yeah, but the media idea was from the high-ups, not his. Even he knew it was inevitable if I go. However, at the same time, I feel like I could make one little difference. The Alliance likes to put their deceased soldier on some heroic pedestal rather than talking about the person, and I'm sure if anything, Anderson would want me there to provide that.

"Honestly? Anderson was a modest person who would despise the idea of receiving this kind of public attention."

She didn't miss the huff that Garrus let out before he replied. "He said something similar like that. Specifically after… the SR1…"

Shepard frowned as she stared at him. "Really?"

Garrus nodded, his mandibles twitching a couple of times. "At your… funeral, the politicians and the Alliance high-ups… all they talked about was you being a hero and the sacrifices that you made. I don't know about the Alliance, but everyone knew that the politicians were painting you in a positive light to boost their own image, especially Udina."

Shepard snorted as she leaned back in her chair, folding her arms in front of her. "That's not surprising."

"When it was Anderson's turn to speak, I… think it was a breath of fresh air because he talked about who you were… your childhood, joining the Alliance, the kind of soldier you were towards your superiors and your crew, and the things he would remember and miss about you."

Shepard frowned as Garrus mentioned this. She realized after all this time that they never talked about her funeral after the Normandy SR1 was attacked, killing twenty crew members, her XO Charles Pressley, and spacing her into Alchera after she got Joker into an escape pod.

"What else happened at the funeral?"

Garrus' attention was turned towards the lake outside. "It was fairly small with only the Alliance News Network as the media. More media outlets like Westurland News tried gaining access, but they were turned away. From what I understand, it was chaos."

"Must be why the Alliance is cooperating with them now…"

"Maybe," Garrus continued. "Anyway, all of the surviving crew of the Normandy was there, though... out of all of us, Kaidan was the only one who spoke in front of everyone. I remember that he barely got through his speech, but from what I was able to catch, he talked about the kind of commander you were… the kind that always listened to her crew and never judging any of them, and how you always tried to help them in even the worst of situations. He didn't mention his relationship with you… probably out of respect for the fraternization rule you humans have… but the grief was there in his eyes…

"There was also a casket there, but of course it was empty. Before the funeral, we were each encouraged to bring in a token."

Shepard looked at him. "Tokens, huh? What kind?"

Garrus tilted his head back a little. His head leaned on the edge of the top part of his chair with his fringe jetting out over it. "Wrex left a shotgun."

Shepard snorted. "That's so like him."

"Kaidan left you a single red rose. It had a ribbon on the stem tied like a bow. The ribbon was in your favorite color. Liara left you a piece of paper containing a poetry piece written by some guy named Walt."

Shepard nodded as she remembered how Liara started reading some of Ashley's collection of poetry after the latter's death on Virmire. She'll have to ask Liara what piece it was she left her one of these days.

"Tali left you an OSD that contained a copy of that quarian song we found on that geth base," Garrus mentioned.

There was a moment of silence after that, but Shepard noticed that he hadn't mentioned this token. "What about you?"

"I… left you two things, actually. One was a bottle of your favorite beer."

Shepard laughed at that. "Of course you would. What was the other thing?"

Garrus inhaled deeply as he fidgeted for a moment in his seat. "It was… a Palaven native flower we call a laelia. It's mostly purple with a little white in various spots and the stem is a pale green color. They were my mother's favorite and… I thought maybe you would like them, too. I wasn't sure how you felt about flowers at the time, but… I don't… I just… I thought maybe you would appreciate it and…"

Shepard heard him swallow as he tried to explain. In reply, Shepard reached over to intertwine her hand with his before giving is a reassuring squeeze. "Thank you. I do appreciate it."

Garrus simply nodded in reply.

Shepard made a decision then. "I think I'll go. He was there for me from the beginning and did what he could to help me throughout my career. I'm going for him, not to kiss the media's ass."

Garrus managed to chuckle at that. "I'm sure he would want you there."

* * *

Later that evening, Shepard was prepping dinner while Garrus was reading a few reports Victus had sent to him earlier this morning. Somewhere in the living room, their cat Felix was batting a catnip-filled toy around, its little bell jingling with each toss. The bell was a little distracting, but it was better than what Felix was doing a few minutes ago… jumping on the table and knocking down some of the datapads onto the floor for no reason other than to get Garrus' attention.

Almost all of the windows were opened to let the summer night breeze in. At times, they would hear some noises whether it was the ducks quacking by the lake outside or a car driving by.

At one point, a loud booming sound was heard, one that sounded similar to a gunshot. Upon hearing the noise, Shepard froze in place, suddenly in a flashback;

_The pain in her body was excruciating, her arm shaking as her hand held the gun. A black swirl surrounded her and she felt terrified as she can barely move, trying all she can to fight against the hold on her. Worse of all, her gun was pointing right at Anderson._

_Somehow, The Illusive Man was controlling them with some dark energy, trying to talk to them in proving in his indoctrinated state of mind that the means to defeating the Reapers was to control them, not destroy._

" _Look at the power they weld. Look at what they can do!"_

_Before she realized what was about to happen, the gun went off and the bullet slammed into Anderson's gut-_

"Shepard! SHEPARD!"

Garrus' voice soon cut the flashback out of her mind, bringing her back to the present. His hands rested firmly on each of her arm, and he looked down at her with concern and worry in his blue eyes. At their feet, the pan she had just taken out of the cupboard to use was now on the floor.

Once he knew she was back in the present, Garrus pulled her to him before wrapping her in an embrace. "It's all right," he whispered to her. "You're safe. Everything will be okay."

In reply, Shepard placed her hands on his back, her eyes closed tightly in order to control the tears that threatened to spill over. Her body shook anyway.

Anderson's voice entered her mind. ' _You did good, child. You did good. I'm proud of you._ '

In the end, Shepard had to remember that he wouldn't blame her for that bullet. They both knew The Illusive Man was responsible. Still, if only Shepard found a way to fight back-

' _No… this wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault!_ '


	10. The Memorial

After making some arrangements in a few days' time, Shepard and Garrus were ready to head to London. Their bags were packed, food perishables were taken care of, and their neighbors, Meela and Trey, offered to look after the house as well as Felix and the hamster. Very early in the morning, an Alliance Kodiak shuttle waited for them.

Upon stepping outside, Shepard smiled as her eyes spotted their pilot. "Steve Cortez, it's been a long time!"

She and Garrus found out ahead of time that Cortez had also accepted the invitation to Anderson's memorial service. Although Cortez didn't know him personally nor has he ever worked under Anderson directly, it was the fact that he had served on the Normandy during wartime that earned him the invite. He made the decision to go once he was sure that Shepard was going as well.

Cortez was already approaching her at this point, his own smile on his face. When he reached her, they both shared a brief hug. "I would've visited sooner, but the Alliance has kept me busy these past few months."

"I could imagine," Shepard said. "How have you been?"

"Good," Cortez replied. "I've been in Vancouver most of the time helping with the rebuilding efforts over there. Mainly, they've been having me arrange procurements for the volunteers in that area, especially for those from off-planet. In between, I've been piloting shuttles for lifting any heavy objects that are needed for rebuilding."

"Sounds like you've been hard at work," Garrus said as he approached them. The two immediately shook hands once they were both within reach.

"How have you both been?" Cortez asked as he started to help with picking up some of their bags.

Shepard pointed a thumb at Garrus. "The Primarch and our house have been keeping him busy. I've been mostly bouncing off the walls."

"Aaand my translator just had a glitch overload over whatever you just said," Garrus mentioned.

"Time for an upgrade," Cortez said with a smirk, indicating that he was teasing.

"Didn't Vega say something like that when you were both talking about the stealth system on the Kodiak?" Shepard asked.

"That's exactly where I got it from."

"Too bad Vega couldn't make it to the service," Garrus said.

"Being neck deep in N7 training can do that," Cortez replied. "Even with the rebuilding of the galaxy, the Alliance needed to build up their N7 count just in case any operations that might come up becomes too much for your average soldier."

"If I recall, they lost a lot of N7 soldiers during the war," Shepard said with a small sigh. "Either way, I miss yours and Vega's banters."

"Funny you said that," Cortez laughed. "The last time I spoke with him before he left for training, well, he didn't say it outright, but he did miss our banters, too. He also said that when his training is done, he wants to come up to visit you two."

"As long as he brings the cerveza," Shepard said.

"And turian brandy," Garrus added.

Soon, they got everything in the shuttle and Cortez began the preparations for the flight. Shepard ended up sitting in the front seat because it was the only other chair to have a seatbelt. It was mostly so in case something happens where the shuttle lurches… then at least Shepard wouldn' be flying out of her seat. Garrus sat in one of the bench seats closest to the cockpit.

"Traynor also told me to tell you hello and apologized for not sending you a message sooner," Cortez brought up.

"How is she?" Shepard asked with a small smile on her face.

"She's been helping with communications in the Vancouver area of course. Like Vega, she's also neck deep in work and couldn't make it to the service."

"Maybe the three of you could come over at the same time someday," Shepard suggested. "Of course, if I remember correctly, she's allergic to cats so I'll have to figure out what to do with the furball that lives with us."

"You got a cat?" Cortez asked curiously.

"Long story."

"So who else will be at the service?" Garrus asked as the shuttle started its journey to London.

"I got a message from Kaidan not too long ago," Cortez mentioned. "He's accepted the invitation and will meet us in London."

"I actually got a message from Jack in the middle of the night last night," Shepard said.

That got Garrus' attention since he didn't hear about this until now. "Really?"

"Yeah. Kahlee Sanders had asked her to escort her to the service, and Jack felt that it was something she couldn't turn down for Kahlee's sake…"

Upon mentioning Kahlee, Shepard found herself frowning, remembering how Anderson mentioned that the two were more than close. She had only heard from her once since the war ended and it had been a message. Kahlee had personally thanked her for everything she had done in the war. She was also grateful that Anderson wasn't alone when he died…

Shepard had sent Kahlee a reply, but unless she looked at her records on her omni-tool, she couldn't remember exactly what she said to her.

"We should be in London in a couple of hours," Cortez mentioned.

Most of the ride was quiet mainly because the three of them were heading to the city that was the most devastated on Earth. It had also been where the Citadel beam was locating, taking anyone dead or alive up, most likely to be harvested. The bloody, countless corpses Shepard had walked by were one sight she wished that she could forget…

A couple of hours later, the shuttle arrived in London. Looking through the external camera, Shepard found herself frowning at the sight of the old city.

"It barely looks any different than when we were fighting last year…" Garrus said as he stood behind her seat to look at the sight.

"Rebuilding cities only just began not long ago according to Hackett," Shepard mentioned. "I imagine that it will take quite a few years before its back to normal… somewhat."

"Living in the country almost makes you forget the damage left behind, doesn't it?" Garrus sighed.

Shepard sighed as well. "Yeah…"

"I'll be parking at the hotel momentarily," Cortez announced. "After we bring our luggage up, is there anywhere in particular you want to go?"

It didn't take very long for Shepard to decide where she wanted to stop first…

* * *

It wasn't a surprise that London was heavy with clouds, though at the moment, there was no rain. Garrus remembered something that Shepard said about the city before the final battle… it always rained in London.

Perhaps it was a blessing in a way that it wasn't raining right now. Garrus personally didn't like getting wet (unless it was out of necessity), but it was more for Shepard's sake than anything.

Hackett had mentioned that some parts of the neighborhood Anderson grew up in were cleared from debris left behind in the war. The park where the service would take place apparently looked as though the devastation never happened, but it was something that would be seen tomorrow when the memorial happened.

With so many dead from the war, new cemeteries were made outside London. At least one national cemetery was created for soldiers who had died in the war, and it was the one where Anderson was buried after his funeral. Standing in front of his grave, Shepard read the words on his military tombstone;

_David E._

_Anderson_

_Adm_

_Alliance Navy_

_N7_

_June 8, 2137_

_Jul 8, 2186_

_Led Resistance_

_Movement_

_In the_

_Reaper War_

It was simple and to the point, and Shepard had a good feeling that it would have been just the way he would have liked it.

She also had a good feeling that Anderson wasn't a flower person either. Still, Shepard wasn't sure what else to bring. She was afraid that bringing a small trinket would end up being stolen, so bringing a bouquet of random flowers was a better call. If anything, she was sure that he would've laughed over how mismatched the bouquet looked.

With Garrus' help, she sat down on the green grass before placing the bouquet at the base of the stone. Except for the light breeze causing the branches of the freshly planted trees to sway, nothing was said for a while. Shepard found her mind filled with good memories of her mentor, of all the times he helped her whenever he could.

Finally, Garrus spoke. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

Shepard closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Just… thinking about some old memories."

"Like what?" Garrus asked.

One came to her right away and she smiled. "Well… there was this one time, just before the shakedown run to Eden Prime, where most of us were hanging out in the mess. You see, a good chunk of us were transferred from the SSV Tokyo, where Anderson served before he was transferred to the SR1, but there were those who never worked under him before. It's natural for soldiers to feel a little nervous when working under a new commanding officer. No two officers are the same it seems like. Protocols are the same, but some are stricter about it, some not-so-much.

"Anyway, I remember eating with some of the newer crew when Anderson walked in. Everyone got quiet suddenly, unsure of how to act aside from standing up to salute him… except he had mentioned that the mess hall was a no hats area, so saluting was not necessary. He retrieved his food like everything was normal. Then, he went to sit down and, before he started eating, he looked at everyone in the eye, smiled and said, 'What's the matter? Never seen commanding officers eat before?' That got a few chuckles out of everyone and they were able to relax around him after that."

That made Garrus smile as he kneeled down so that he was eye level with her. "I didn't know him as well as you did, of course, but from everything I've heard, that sounds like something he would do."

Shepard nodded as the small smile on her face slowly faded. Once more, she found herself staring at the headstone in front of her. "I miss him, Garrus," she whispered.

The turian gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know…"

* * *

There weren't that many restaurants opened even a year after the end of the war. However, that didn't stop Jack from inviting Shepard and Garrus to the only levo-dextro restaurant that also doubled as a nightclub. The three of them also met up with both Cortez and Kaidan and they soon were seated in one of the large booths. Normally, it would have overlooked the city, but with the damage outside, the restaurant had placed curtains over the windows.

"…So we've been pretty much working over at the London Alliance base until they rebuild Grissom Academy," said Jack as she explained what she has been up to since the end of the war. The five of them were looking over the menu to see what they wanted for dinner.

"Seems like the Alliance is keeping everyone busy…" Shepard said with a sigh.

"Shepard, you did more than anyone during the war," Cortez mentioned. "Let us do the heavy lifting this time."

"I've been hearing that a lot," Shepard mentioned. She managed to smile at the shuttle pilot. "But I appreciate the thought."

Kaidan had only been half paying attention to the conversation as he gazed down at the menu. "I wonder how good the steaks are here," he mumbled more to himself than to anyone in particular.

Shepard turned her attention to Jack. "Hey, I never got to thank you for everything you did when… you found me."

"No problem," Jack replied almost casually as she leaned back in her seat. "I'm just glad things worked out in the end, especially after I was banned from seeing you at the hospital."

' _Why am I not surprised?_ ' Garrus thought to himself. Normally, he would have said that out loud, but he didn't feel like increasing his chances to be thrown across the room tonight by Jack's biotics.

"I heard about that," Shepard replied. "I wanted to lift the ban, but you were already out of London by that time, plus your extranet address wasn't accepting new messages."

"I lost my omni-tool during the final battle," Jack explained. "I didn't get a new one until a few months ago. Anyway, I knew it was a good idea to follow my instinct when I gave you that tattoo on your back. Last I saw, it had burns on some spots…"

"It just needs a touch up since I still have some scars there, but it's mostly intact. I did add the tattoo to my list of distinguished markings with the Alliance after I heard what you tried to do."

Jack nodded. "Good. It was hard trying to get Alliance brass to listen to me when I told them I gave you the tattoo. Naturally, they listened when the cheerleader showed up with those X-Rays."

"You have to admit, Miranda had more compelling evidence at the time," mentioned Garrus. He was sure the mention of the former Cerberus operative cause a brief flare of Jack's biotics to show up… either that or he was just imagining things.

"Yeah, whatever," the biotic grumbled.

Soon, their waitress came by to take orders for their drinks. Everyone ordered some kind of light alcoholic drink… not enough to get too tipsy, but enough to relax a bit. It didn't take long for the drinks to arrive. The waitress then took their dinner orders before taking their menus and departing.

Once that was done, Shepard cleared her throat. "I think a toast is in order here." She raised her filled glass. "To Anderson."

The others raised their own glasses. "To Anderson," they repeated.

"May he rest well," Kaidan added.

Their clinked their glasses together in their toast before all five began to sip their drinks at once. Jack ended up drinking her entire share in one sitting before placing the glass down on the table.

"Okay," she started to say. "Enough with the depressing crap." She then turned her head to eye the nearby dance floor. "Let's go dance while we wait for our food."

Shepard smirked. "I'd join you, but not only are my legs not cooperating, but I apparently 'dance like shit' according to you."

Cortez was starting to get up. "Come on Shepard, you can always go out there and wave your arms in the air."

"Don't encourage her!" Jack demanded with a laugh.

"I'm good," Shepard said with a laugh.

Jack then pulled Kaidan up from his seat. "Come on, you're dancing, too."

"Um… okay," Kaidan managed to say, feeling a little disoriented from suddenly being pulled up by the arm.

"Are you coming Garrus?" Cortez asked.

"I'm good," Garrus replied. "I don't want to build up my appetite any more than it's necessary."

"Suit yourself," Jack said before the three of them moved to the dance floor.

Shepard had to chuckle after that exchange. "We seriously need to get everyone back together one of these days." She then light slapped his arm. "And you don't have to decline dancing for my sake, you know."

"It's true, I don't want to work up an appetite," Garrus replied truthfully.

"All right, all right," Shepard said. "Besides, watching from the sidelines can be fun at times."

"True. Too bad none of us plan to get drunk tonight."

"It's for the best…"

They fell quiet after that, both contented to watch their friends on the dance floor. For the most part, the three stayed together. Eventually, Shepard noticed how Cortez and Kaidan were facing each other, and it didn't take long for them to start dancing together with barely a foot in between them. Jack still danced next to them, but she seemed to begun to enjoy just being by herself with the rhythm of the music.

It also seemed as though Garrus had noticed what was going on as well. "You know… it just _might_ be the very little amount of alcohol we just drank, but if I didn't know better, I'd say Cortez and Alenko are drawing themselves a little closer to each other."

"I'm seeing it, too," Shepard mentioned. "You know, I never thought about it, but they would make a good match if they both gave themselves the chance."

"Planning to play matchmaker?" Garrus asked with a grin.

"Nah," Shepard replied. "Joker and EDI were enough work for one lifetime."

"Fair enough."

* * *

It didn't come as a surprise to Shepard that morning came with clouds in the sky. It always seemed to be cloudy in London.

The Alliance had escorted Shepard and Garrus to the park where Anderson's memorial service would take place. Certain areas of the park were barricaded to keep the general public out. Shepard did notice some members of the media outside the barricade. She knew that media outlets were allowed in, but she was now positive that the Alliance would only allow in certain news networks. Something must've changed between Hackett's invitation and now.

' _Looks like not just any of them could come in after all_.' In a way, this lifted a small weight off her shoulders.

The guards let their escort car in and the vehicle drove through until they stopped in the middle of the park. There, folded chairs and a platform were set up, and it was hard to miss the black cloth that was currently veiling what she knew was the life-like statue of Anderson. Along the back row of the chairs, Shepard noticed the media, though there wasn't too many of them. Alliance News Network was one, and she noticed Westurland News as well (though there was no sign of Al-Jilani at the moment).

"You ready?" Garrus asked her once the car stopped.

Shepard inhaled deeply. "Not really… but, well… let's go."

From there, they both got out of the car. In almost an instant, a few photographers shot pictures of the two, and Shepard had to squint her eyes a little from the camera flashes.

' _Hopefully this will only last a minute,_ ' she grumbled in her mind.

Shepard and Garrus walked side by at the pace only Shepard could handle right now. Although she had noticed some improvement in her walking, especially in speed, it still took quite a bit of effort just to make that one step forward. This gave Shepard the time to observe her surroundings. Of course, a huge majority of those in attendance were human, but she did also notice quite a few turians as well. She knew that Anderson had done some training with the turian military at one point in his life, so she was sure that these turians knew Anderson from that time.

When they got to the middle, they noticed Kaidan and Cortez sitting in their seats. Both were dressed in Alliance blues just as she was. The two noticed them as well, and all four nodded to each other in greeting.

Their assigned seating, of course, was near in front… second row if Shepard remembered, but Hackett told her that it was along the walkway so that it was easier for Shepard to come and go if needed. She was getting close to the front when she noticed someone approaching her. Naturally, she turned her head to see who it is.

"It's been a long time, Commander Shepard," they said.

Shepard smiled warmly upon recognizing them. She reached out a hand. "Major Coats. How are you?"

Coats reached out and the two shook hands. "Good, though it's Lieutenant Colonel now."

Shepard sighed at that. "Yeah, sorry, I've been somewhat out of the loop since the end of the war."

"That's quite all right. I heard you're on medical leave right now."

Shepard nodded. "What have you been doing since the war ended?"

Coats attention turned towards the park they were in. "A majority of my time has been spent helping with recovering London. Needless to say, it's still ongoing, and we think it'll be a few years before it's complete like many other cities… though it won't really be what it once was. A lot of the centuries-old buildings were too badly damaged to save."

Shepard nodded. "Keep up the hard work. If it wasn't for my injuries, I'd be helping with recovery."

"You earned the rest, Commander," Coats said. "If you hadn't united the races to fight back, we would've all been obliterated a while ago."

"So I've been told," Shepard replied.

"And… the resistance wouldn't be what it was if it wasn't for Anderson."

Shepard nodded in agreement as she found herself frowning a little. "I just wish he was here to see how far we've come since the end of the war."

Coats nodded in agreement. "Yes… well, it was good to see you again, Commander."

"You too, Lieutenant Colonel. I just wish it was under better circumstances…"

"Likewise."

The two parted with Coats sitting down in his seat. Shepard soon made it to her own seat. She didn't even start to sit down before she felt a light punch to the arm. Shepard knew it was Jack before she even turned her head.

"Hey, I was wondering when you would show up," Jack said.

"Blame the legs," Shepard replied with a smirk. She then happened to notice Jack's all black attire consisting of dress pants, boots, and long sleeve shirt. The only tattoos of hers that were showing were the ones on her head, neck, and hands.

Jack noticed Shepard staring and sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm wearing clothes covering most of the tattoos. I can dress respectfully if I want to."

"I'm sure the Alliance would kick you out otherwise," pointed out Garrus.

"That's what Sanders said," Jack said.

Upon mentioning Sanders, Shepard's eyes shifted towards the front row. There, she noticed Kahlee speaking to Admiral Hackett, both dressed in Alliance blues.

Shepard turned to Garrus. "Do you mind keeping Jack company for a couple of minutes? I should go and speak with Hackett."

Garrus nodded. "You got it."

"Have fun," said Jack as Shepard began to leave.

She was a few feet away when Hackett noticed her. She was starting to straightened up to salute, but the Admiral waved a hand to stop her as he approached.

"At ease, Shepard, formality is not necessary," Hackett said. A small smirk appeared on his face as the two shook hands instead. "I'm glad you can make it."

Shepard nodded. "I noticed there aren't a lot of media as I thought there would be."

"After I spoke with you," Hackett began to explain. "One of the news outfits started to speculate on who will be there rather than focusing on Anderson. You were mentioned the most of course. I think that got the higher-ups to think over who could be allowed in, so they limited it to just a few selected. Without their interference, at least now the primary focus can be on Anderson and the memorial itself."

Shepard seemed to sigh with relief. "I'm glad that worked out."

Hackett nodded. "We'll be starting the service in just a few minutes. When it's done, I'd like to discuss a few possible ideas of work you can do for the Alliance. It'll be done at home, of course, but it'll be better than sitting around with nothing to do I imagine."

Shepard's eyes lit up at that mention. "That would be great."

Hackett gave her a brief nod before turned to head up to the platform. By then, Shepard turned her attention to Kahlee, who also made eye contact. A small smile appeared on the blond-haired woman's face.

"Commander, it's good to see you," Kahlee said. She looked and sounded a bit exhausted, but other than that, she looked just the same from the last time Shepard saw her.

The two shook and Shepard took her free hand to place on top of Kahlee's clasped one. "How are you, Kahlee?"

Kahlee took a deep breath. "It's… still hard some days, but it's better than the first few months since David died. Other than that, I've been busy with the Grissom Academy students over at the Alliance base nearby. The academy will be rebuilt one day, but for now…"

"The one thing you can do is take one day at a time," Shepard said. "It's what we all need to do to get through the tough times."

Kahlee nodded. "Yeah, you're right… still, it doesn't make it easy. But I try the best I can and do what needs to be done. That's what he would have done."

They both noticed Hackett getting ready to approach the podium on the platform. The memorial would start at any moment.

Shepard managed to smile. "It's good to see you again, Kahlee."

"You too, Shepard. And thank you again… for everything you've done."

Shepard nodded before leaving to take her seat.

A minute later, all was quiet as Hackett began to speak.

"Comrades, colleagues, friends… we are gathered here today to honor and remember a soldier who fought hard against a war that nearly tore the galaxy apart, one who will always be remembered for his bravery, heroics, and leadership; Admiral David Edward Anderson.

"He was born here in London in this very neighborhood, so it was right that we join together here today. Before we commence, it is my honor to present this tribute to one of the many who fought to see an end to the Reaper War."

The moment Hackett's last sentence was finished, a couple of soldiers pulled down the veil, and the eight foot tall statue of Anderson was unveiled. He was dressed in military gear similar to the one he wore when he died. He stood tall with an Avenger rifle pointing up in his right hand and his eyes gazed up towards the sky. Upon the reveal, those in the audience took a moment to clap in unison.

For a few minutes afterwards, Hackett spoke more about Anderson mainly about the work he did during the Reaper War. Once he was done, he looked over the large crowd in front of him. "If there's anyone who wishes to speak about Anderson, come up to the podium."

There was only a few seconds where everyone simple looked around to see who would be the first to speak about Anderson. It didn't take long before Shepard chose to stand first.

Garrus looked up at her and he noticed the reassuring smile on her face. He realized what she was thinking. ' _Don't worry, I can do this_.' The walk to the podium would take her a bit, but she was willing to get up there without assistance. He simply nodded before she began to head forward.

It did take a bit, and Shepard was grateful for once that she was sitting very close to the front row. Who knew how long it would have taken had she not been assigned a closer seat and ended up in the back row.

Shepard didn't miss the sounds of cameras clicking as they took her picture while she went up the ramp to the platform. Halfway up, Hackett had offered her a hand, and though she was a bit reluctant, she went ahead and took it. He then escorted her until she stood at the podium.

Leaning against the podium, Shepard took a moment to look over the crowd. Naturally, all eyes were on her and she was sure that the news networks were having a field day over her first public appearance since the end of the war. She was feeling a little uneasy suddenly, wondering for just a moment if coming up to the platform was a mistake.

Shepard then turned to see Garrus, whose mandibles spread in his own reassuring smile. Seeing that gave her a small boost of confidence, and she was able to find her voice after taking a deep breath…

"There are a lot of things that many could describe David Anderson… admiral, leader, mentor, soldier, colleague… and friend. There's so much to say about him, but I'd imagine that he would want me to keep it simple and modest, just as he was in life.

"Fifty years ago, David was born here in London, the youngest of three. As a child, David's father would take him to the base he worked at. There, he would spend time watching ships and fighters take off and land in a time where humanity could only wonder if we were not alone in the galaxy.

"He was still young when he decided to join the military. Most join for reasons like duty and honor. He joined because of a lesson he learned from a dog. You see, this dog would bark at him every time he walked it on the way to school. 'Scared the hell out of me,' he said. Then, one day when he was in a bad mood, the dog barked as always… but this time, David barked back. They kept at it until there was nothing left. The lesson he learned? 'Sometimes, you just gotta howl to make things right.'

"But that's just part of David's life. As a soldier, he was the kind of leader that anyone who served under him can look up to, myself included. Even in the most stressful situation, David had a way to motivate you whether it was encouragement or a small, lighthearted joke. He was doing that as far back as the First Contact War. It was one of the things I learned as a commander… the last thing one wants is a soldier under constant stress.

"David was not a man without flaws and he would be the first person to tell you that. He made mistakes just like anyone else, but he never let it get him down. Even when his own ass was handed to him, he would dust himself off and push forward.

"What will I remember most about David? His sense of right and wrong, his humor, all the stories of his life that he told me since I've served under him, and all the advice he had given me. What will I miss most about David? The times when things get rough and he was just a vid-call away… his encouragement was one to cherish…"

At this point, Shepard found her throat closing up with emotion, her eyes beginning to blur with tears. She took a moment to compose herself, blinking back the tears and swallowing the lump in her throat. Her voice cracked a bit for just a moment once she spoke again…

"It… hurts to know that David didn't live to see the end of the war, especially because he was one of the soldiers who fought hard to put it at an end. But… I know that if he was standing here today, he would look at each and every one of you, smile, and say, '… I'm proud of you.'

"Rest in peace, David Edward Anderson."


	11. Geneva

For a while after her last visit to Toronto, Shepard almost felt reluctant to see another doctor. The last doctor was nice… but Shepard knew that she could get a second opinion somewhere else. Perhaps she'll be more convinced about not walking the same again if multiple doctors say the same thing.

Shepard wanted more than anything for Dr. Chakwas to look over her. Alas, she was still on the Normandy's galactic tour with the four councilors. One other doctor she could trust was Dr. Michel, but that's only because she knew her and remembered the care she had given to both Tali and Kaidan.

However, Dr. Michel was in her home city in Europe helping out with the recovery efforts there. From their new home, it was quite a trip to get there. However, since they were here in Europe now, Garrus encouraged Shepard to call Dr. Michel to see if she can make an appointment with her. Naturally, Shepard was reluctant, not wanting to face another disappointment.

"At least do it for me," Garrus had said. "I want to make sure everything is fine and not getting worse. At least give me the peace of mind."

Shepard had sighed. "Oh fine… as long as you don't accept any more chocolates from Dr. Michel… unless they're levo chocolates."

Garrus laughed at that. "Fair enough."

So Shepard made the call. Not only was Dr. Michel thrilled to hear from her, but the doctor was also willing to look her over in three days. She made the appointment right away.

Two days after Anderson's memorial in London, Shepard and Garrus took a shuttle to Geneva.

After getting out of the port, Shepard took a moment to look around the city. There was still damage being fixed, but it didn't look as badly torn as London had been even a year later. She can only imagine how bad Geneva looked during the war.

Despite being a last-minute trip, Shepard and Garrus were able to secure a suite for a three-day stay at the Hotel Swissotel Metropole Geneva. It was one of the few old places in the city that survived the war without hardly any damage. The hotel was still operational, but the first two floors after the lobby were currently being used as a makeshift hospital (not where Dr. Michel was… she was in another makeshift clinic nearby).

Upon arrival, Shepard felt somewhat guilty once she got a good look at her suite. There was enough space to consider it a one bedroom apartment. Entering the suite immediately took her into the small kitchen with a small living room just beyond it. Large windows overlooked a small park across the road. Just beyond the park was a part of Lake Geneva. Off to the left were two doors… one led to the large bathroom that consisted of a whirlpool bathtub, and the other, of course, led to the large bedroom with the king size bed.

The hotel meant well when they gave up two of their floors for a makeshift hospital, but Shepard wondered if perhaps the other floors could have been used to house those at the refugee camps who have nowhere to go.

"We have a few hours before we head down for dinner," Garrus said as he settled their packed bags next to the bedroom door. He then walked over to her before wrapping his arms around her waist, his hands resting on her stomach. "Is there anything you want to do until then?"

Looking out the window and seeing people walking through the streets, it didn't take long for Shepard to make a decision. "I was thinking about the makeshift hospital downstairs. I thought it would be nice to go down and volunteer for a couple of hours."

Clearly Garrus had another idea as he bent his head down to gently nip at her right shoulder. "Not that I hate the idea… as a matter of fact it's a good one… but I was thinking we can just spend a few hours just… relaxing."

Shepard chuckled as she turned to face him. "As much as I love the way you think, I'm afraid that my idea won't leave me until it's done. However, when we get back from dinner, I promise we'll do _all_ the relaxing you want."

It's was Garrus' turn to chuckle as he leaned down to press his forehead to hers. "All right, sounds good. Besides, I'm sure your presence there will help boost morale for the patients there."

Shepard forced a small smirk. "Maybe."

Ten minutes later, the two arrived on the first floor of the makeshift hospital. They spoke with the leading doctor there, who was, of course, thrilled to have _the_ Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakarian coming to volunteer. It also just so happened that the hospital just received a shipment of new blankets for the long-term patients since many were using old, ratty ones they were able to find through the rubbles. The doctor recommended passing them out to those who most need it, mainly children, the elderly, and those with long-term injuries.

The two split up, each taking one side of the hallway, and began their work. For Garrus, the first room he happened to go into was a room full of young children, six of them, and it took him a couple of seconds to notice that they were all human. All of them immediately turned their heads to stare at him. Some gave him wide-eyed looks, and the others were more curious than anything. Two things were clear to him… one, he was sure that none of these children have ever seen a live turian before, and two; none of them were sure what to think of him.

Then, a young human girl got out of her cot and walked up to him. Garrus had to guess that she was the oldest of the group judging by how tall she was.

"Are you a turian?" she asked innocently.

Garrus managed to nod. "Yes, I am."

"I knew it!" the girl said almost excitedly. "When I was in school, we learned about turians and I always wanted to meet one."

The girl's enthusiasm seemed to ease the tension in the room, and the children with the wide-eyed looks seemed to relax. Garrus thought to smile to assure them that it's okay. Then he remembered that his teeth might seem threatening to them, reminding himself how small human children would be frighten when he saw them during his C-Sec days.

"Why are you here?" the girl asked him.

"The doctor asked me to give you each a new blanket," Garrus explained.

"Good," the girl said. She turned around and pointed to one of the smaller children, a boy who was lying on the cot in the room. "Nate was cold last night."

Garrus got himself down on one knee so that he was at eye level with the child. "Are the doctors and nurses taking good care of you?" he asked.

The girl nodded. "Yeah, it was better than last year since there are less people here now. Some of us were here since last year, that's how bad we were hurt."

As she spoke, Garrus noticed the scars that were left on the girl, mainly the right side of her face (mostly covered by her long brown hair) and her right arm. The scars reminded him of the ones Shepard had as a result of the burns she had, and he guessed that things were grim for the girl for a while. It was also hard to believe that, even a year later, there were still patients here who were still recovering from their injuries right after the war.

Garrus shook the thoughts out of his head. "What's your name?"

"Mitzi."

"How old are you, Mitzi?"

"Ten."

He nodded. "I'm Garrus. Would you like to help me pass out the blankets to the other kids?"

Mitzi nodded almost eagerly. From there, the two got started on the small task. Unknown to Garrus, Shepard had just finished passing out the blanket in the room opposite of the one where the children were. There were only two elderly people in there, both who were asleep when she came in, so the task to give them each a blanket didn't take them long. When she stepped out, Shepard happened to see Garrus interacting with the kids in the room he was in. He managed to get one child to help him pass out the blankets to the other children. Seeing this somehow pulled at Shepard's heartstrings, and she couldn't help the smile that sneaked up on her face.

Passing out the blankets took a bit of time and not just because of Shepard's own injuries. Those who recognized her took the time to thank her for her contribution in the war and each told their story. Some were left with barely any hope knowing that many of those they were close to were gone. Others considered themselves lucky despite losing a lot because there was still at least one loved one who was still alive. It was true that everyone lost somebody in the war; a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a child, a friend, it was endless… talking to these people made Shepard realize the magnitude of these losses. Casualty lists were one thing, but getting to know the few who were unfortunate to end up on the list was another story. They weren't just numbers… they were people who once had lives to look forward to.

As much as Shepard felt good about brightening these people's days just by visiting them, a part of her felt that she didn't deserve all the praise. Not only were there soldiers just as deserving, but it somewhat served as a reminder of things that did go wrong during her fight.

At least today, she would leave without someone blaming her for what happened in the war. Shepard was aware of the criticism that was out there from the survivors, and she was glad that those she talked to today did not hold any grudges against her.

When it was close to dinner time, Shepard and Garrus decided to depart, and the lead doctor thanked them. Before going, knowing that Shepard was going to see Dr. Michel the next day, he asked if Shepard could broker a trade with Dr. Michel. They had a surplus of medical supplies that would benefit more in a small clinic and they hoped it would be exchanged for supplies they were getting low on.

It reminded Shepard of the time she helped Dr. Chakwas make a trade to exchange basic medical supplies for military grade medical supplies on the Citadel. She was sure the lead doctor had heard about that trade at one time.

"Just like old times," Garrus chuckled as they left the hotel.

* * *

The next day, Shepard found herself at the clinic where Dr. Michel was helping out as the lead doctor. After what happened last time in Toronto, Garrus insisted on accompanying her to the clinic. Shepard let him only because she didn't want what happened in Toronto to occur again, but she did have another reason to be somewhat reluctant…

"Shepard, it's good to see you," Dr. Michel said cheerfully once she entered the room. She then turned her attention to the turian in the room and the doctor's eyes seemed to suddenly brighten. "Garrus! It's been a long time."

As good as Dr. Michel was in her profession, she wasn't one to do a very good job in hiding the fact that she clearly had a crush on Garrus. Shepard didn't really blame her… the whole 'knight-in-shining-armor' was definitely an appealing trait after Garrus helped her out with her situation with Fist and his thugs. That was a time that felt so long ago now. Still, Shepard wondered if the doctor was aware that Garrus was, well, off the market now.

"It has, Dr. Michel," Garrus replied. "How's the clinic?"

"Very good," the doctor answered. "Things here have been running more smoothly once the chaos of the aftermath of the war slowed down. We didn't have lot of volunteers for a while, but the more time passed, the easier it became to help those who needed it."

"Sounds like things are getting better around here," Shepard cut in.

Dr. Michel turned her attention to Shepard. "Indeed it has. How have things been for the both of you?"

"I guess it's been, well, slow and steady concerning my walking these days," Shepard said. "But Garrus has been a great help since I got out of the hospital."

Dr. Michel nodded. "Yes, it's a good idea to have someone with you while you recover, and it's even better when it's someone you know."

Shepard frowned as she remembered something. "Weren't you on the Citadel when… it was brought to Earth?"

The doctor also frowned. "I was. The experience is one I don't wish to repeat anytime soon."

"I can only imagine," Garrus sighed.

"But I was lucky in a way. I had been visiting my brother when the Citadel started to move, and many of us were forced into hiding. If it wasn't for officers like Commander Bailey, a lot of us wouldn't have made it out. He was the one who made sure people like my brother and I got to Earth safely after the Crucible blast."

Shepard's eyes brightened at that. There were a few people she hadn't heard about since she woke up from the hospital, not knowing their fate. The C-Sec commander was one of them. "Bailey's alive?"

Dr. Michel nodded. "Yes. After the blast, we were trapped on the Citadel for about a week before rescue came. Bailey helped many of the civilians to stay calm during the wait. For a while, none of us were sure we'd survive long enough before help arrive."

"That must've been terrifying."

"It was. Now, Bailey's helping out with the rebuilding process on the Citadel."

Hearing that didn't surprise Shepard since Bailey had lived on the Citadel for years. In the back of her mind, she wondered if his ex-wife and their two children made it through the war. He mentioned that they were on Earth when the Reapers hit. The last time she talked to Bailey, he hadn't heard a peep from them.

Dr. Michel raised her left arm to activate her omni-tool. "Okay, let's get started. I have your medical records, but I would like to hear of your current progress from you."

"Let's see, where to begin…" Shepard started to say. "I've had multiple surgeries to make it possible for me to even walk at all. It's limited, but it's been improving. As my records may show, I have bolts and rods holding my bones together and one doctor thinks that even with future surgical improvements, there's a possibility that I may never walk right again depending on how my body recovers. I had upgrades after… the attack on the first Normandy, but the ones in my legs shut down after we won the Reaper War."

"I see," Dr. Michel said as she typed in some notes on her omni-tool. "If I may, when it comes time for improvements, I do have one suggestion when you want to consider your options. Has your last doctor mentioned about possibly using artificial bones?"

Shepard shook her head. "No, she hasn't. I can guess that these artificial bones would replace the real ones."

"Precisely," Dr. Michel replied as she brought up a sample picture of one that looked like a femur bone. "They're basically bone grafts that flex and endure like real bones. I wouldn't recommend replacing all of the ones in your legs with them right away, but we can at least focus on the weaker bones first. The reason for my recommendation is to make sure that there aren't any complications."

"What kind of complications?" asked Garrus.

"Despite the latest technology, there's still the possibility of Shepard's body rejecting the replacements. The rejection could also possibly make her walking situation worse than it is now."

Shepard sighed. "Well… I guess when it comes to medical, there's always a risk."

"True," Dr. Michel agreed. "But of course, that is why we offer this as something to think about. Even the bolts and rods you have now pose a risk, as I'm sure you already know, with the possibility of them breaking or causing even more pain later. Since your body is still recovering, I wouldn't advise having this procedure done now, but when the time comes, it's something to think about when you are ready for it."

"At least I know the option is there," Shepard said. "I was lucky my body accepted the cybernetics in the first place, so if I decide to do this, I just hope that I'll have the same luck."

Dr. Michel nodded. "Now, as you know, you still do have a long recovery judging from your x-rays. My advice is to continue with your physical therapy. I would also like for you to come see me again in three months if possible. Please do update me if there are any changes."

Garrus helped Shepard back on her feet before she reached out to shake Dr. Michel's hand. "Thank you, doctor. We'll try to come back if it's possible."

"You're welcome. I was happy to help." She then turned her attention to Garrus and Shepard didn't miss how her smile widened. "It was good to see you again, Garrus."

"Same here, Dr. Michel."

Once they were both outside the clinic, Garrus didn't miss the fact that Shepard was glaring at him. He noticed that there was something off about it and he couldn't really pinpoint exactly what it was.

"What?" he asked clearly confused.

"Oh come on!" Shepard called out. "Dr. Michel totally has a crush on you."

Garrus raised his browplates at that. "No she doesn't. She's a good doctor and a friend who I happened to help out during my C-Sec days. Considering how I saved her life, she's clearly grateful."

"Well that _definitely_ explains the turian chocolates she got you last year."

"There's nothing wrong with getting a gift from a friend who saw said gift and thought of me. Why is that a problem?"

Shepard sighed over that, giving up. "Oh, nothing."

* * *

Later, in the middle of the night, Garrus woke up from a deep slumber, noting how dark the bedroom was in the suite. He wasn't quite sure if he had been dreaming moments ago, but considering how calm he was feeling upon opening his eyes, he was sure that he didn't have a nightmare.

Still feeling tired, he lazily reached over to where he knew Shepard was asleep. Instead, her spot was cold and empty and a brief surge of panic shot through his nerves as he sat up from the bed. He looked around the room before his eyes settled on the closed bathroom door, one of two doors that connected to the room. At the bottom of the door, he saw the light on through the crack, and Garrus immediately relaxed. He just happened to wake up when she decided to use the bathroom. That was all.

' _She's alive, she's okay_ ,' he reminded himself as he lied back down on his side in the bed. ' _I have to stop panicking like that…_ '

Briefly, he looked at the clock and saw that it was just past two thirty in the morning. Knowing that Shepard will be back in bed any minute, he attempted to go back to sleep.

It felt like a few minutes when Garrus woke up again. He saw that Shepard's side of the bed was still empty. Although he still felt groggy, he gazed over at the clock again. His eyes widened upon seeing what time it was now.

A half hour had passed.

Garrus knew at this point that something was wrong. Getting out of bed, he quietly walked over to the closed door. Once within reach, he gently knocked a couple of times on the door. "Shepard? Are you okay?"

He was met with silence, and he didn't hear a sound beyond the door. Although his heart was racing at this point, he remained calm as he knocked again. "Shepard?"

Once again, there was no answer and no sound. Garrus reached for the doorknob and turned it to open the door. To his relief, she didn't lock it behind her.

The first place he looked was the whirlpool tub and that's where he found her. She was sitting right in the middle of it in a fetal position, the tub halfway filled with water. Her arms were wrapped around her legs as her forehead rested just between her knees.

Garrus had inhale deeply to calm his nerves. Seeing Shepard like this hurt, especially since the last two days had been good for both of them. He guessed that she most likely had an intense nightmare and it was something that she couldn't get out of her head.

Getting down on his knees next to the tub, Garrus reached over to gently touch her upper arm. The touch was clearly something Shepard wasn't expecting by the way she jumped and gasped. Her head rose quickly, and her wide eyes scanned her surroundings in panic for a moment. She relaxed upon seeing her turian.

"Shit… Garrus," she muttered. "Sorry… I… I'm all right."

"Shepard…" Garrus whispered with worry, knowing that she wasn't telling the truth.

Shepard realized this and she sighed, her shoulders drooping. "Nightmare… the… time I took out that Reaper on Rannoch… only… I didn't succeed and… it killed everyone on ground…"

As she talked, Garrus stood up and shed the pants he had worn to bed. With that out of the way, he stepped into the tub, grateful for the amount of room it had so that the both of them would sit together comfortably. Ignoring how cold the water was, he sat down behind her, his legs on either side of her before he used his arms to pull her to him so that her back rested against his chest. To his relief, she responded by turning a little before resting against him, leaning her head back against the left side of his cowl.

He heard Shepard inhale as she reached up to gently massage the scarred side of his neck. "I know that… it'll take a while for me to get over the things that haunt me… hell, who knows if that'll ever happen."

"With the things you've seen, it's… well, bound to happen."

Shepard huffed at that as she moved her head away from his cowl, though her hand still massaged his neck. "Yeah… I wish it wasn't but, well, I guess it does make me more… human, I suppose. Right now, I'm haunted by decisions that caused a life… Ashley on Virmire…"

"Saren didn't give you much of a choice to save both her and Kaidan. And you said it yourself… you had to make sure the bomb went off…"

"I know… but it doesn't make it easier." Shepard took another deep breath. "I… regret not finding a way to intervene when Thane fought Kai Leng. I know I would have potentially made the situation worse if I tried… they were both moving so fast that if I tried to shoot, I could've shot Thane by mistake… and he dies anyway…"

"You got the bastard in the end," Garrus reminded her.

"Yes I did. I do wish there was a way to save Mordin and Legion, but… when I think about it now, I realized that their sacrifice was what they had chosen. Both of them would have chosen another way if they could, but they both saw no alternative in their goals.

"Still… when the dreams in that dark forest come… I hear their voices… Ashley telling me to get Kaidan and go, Mordin telling me that someone else might have gotten it wrong, Thane's prayers to Kalahira for my sake, and Legion asking me if he had a soul. Anderson's there too, now… telling me how proud he was of me." Shepard closed her eyes, the tears she had held back leaking out. She bowed her head, and though she wasn't bawling, the tears continued to fall. She felt Garrus' arms around her tighten before he buried his face in the junction between her neck and shoulder.

"It sounds like… they don't blame you," Garrus guessed. "You said you don't see the boy anymore?"

Shepard slowly nodded. "Yeah."

Garrus had a theory of why. "Didn't he represent the innocent you couldn't save?"

"Yeah… but I stopped blaming myself over their loss a while ago because I realized that it was out of my control."

"There you go… you still blame yourself for their deaths and that's why you still hear them in your dreams. I think they're trying to tell you that what happened to them wasn't your fault. I know it won't happen overnight, but if you make peace with it, it's possible that they won't haunt you with their voices anymore."

Shepard opened her eyes. "I… never thought of that. It doesn't explain why the boy would go on fire every time, but… well…" She shrugged a little before she turned her head to him. "How did you figure that out?"

It was Garrus' turn to take a deep breath as he raised his head up a little. "Omega."

Shepard frowned at that, realizing what he meant. Still, she let him talk. "For weeks after I came back on the Normandy, I was barely able to sleep. When I did sleep, I would find myself back in the apartment and see the faces of my dead team… Butler, Montague, Melanis, Sensat, Grundan Krul, Erash, Vortash, Weaver, Mierin, and Ripper… they never said anything and only stared… for a long time, I had thought they were accusing me, blaming me for what happened to them…

"After we dealt with Sidonis… you made me realize that I was letting what happened swallow me… and I think my team knew that, and it explained why it looked like they were accusing me… they knew I would go after Sidonis and they knew it was without a clear head. When I slept that night, they finally spoke, saying the things they used to say during our run… I realized after a while of having the same dreams that they were trying to tell me that I shouldn't blame myself for what happened. When I finally made peace… the dreams stopped.

"It won't happen overnight… it didn't happen with me… but when you're ready to make peace… their voices may stop."

"Maybe," Shepard finally said quietly. "But you're right… it won't happen overnight. Still… it won't stop the other nightmares."

"I know… I… know."

The way Garrus hesitated when he said that caught Shepard's attention. "Garrus? I know you have nightmares too, but you hardly talk about them…"

He buried his face in her shoulder again. "I don't want to burden you."

"Garrus… remember what you said not long after we moved into the cabin? Neither one of us should hold back what's bothering us? If we let it build, it'll just make things worse."

"I know, I'm sorry… it's just… you have a lot of deal with and-"

"Garrus…" He could've sworn that he heard the undertone of her commander voice when she said his name that time. Even he knew better than to defy her when she used that voice.

"I…" he started to say. "Sometimes dreamed about losing my Dad and sister… I thought I had at one point and… after my Mom died, losing them in less than a year would have been my breaking point…"

Shepard frowned at that, remembering one evening when she came to visit him in the main battery and ended up walking in the middle of call between him and his father. He and Solana were trying to get to the evacuations shuttles, but they weren't sure if they would make it. Then the call cut off. He tried to brush it off when she tried to talk to him, and he even tried to convince her that he needed to be alone, but she was having none of that. He had comforted her too many times to count during difficult moments, but now it was her turn to return the favor. She almost expected him to lash out. Instead, he keened in front of her and in her arms for the first time since they've known each other. Later, she would learn that his emotions were building up for some time between his home world burning, wondering if he'll ever see his father and sister again, and the loss of comrades and friends. Worse, he never had the chance, until that moment, to mourn the loss of his mother, who had died before the war. And although he never said it, Shepard had a feeling that there was one other fear… the fear of losing her to the war. The vid call was, what she called, the straw that broke the camel's back.

"I… also dream of what could've happened to you during the war…" Garrus continued. Well, that confirmed his fears of losing her during the war. "Rannoch? You scared the hell out of me that day. I know which was worse, that or Tuchanka with the Thresher Maw. And the two times I thought you were dead? Yeah… I still have nightmares about it. Sometimes, I wonder what could've happened if I had been on the SR1 the day it was attacked. Could I have found a way to make sure you got on the escape pod or helped get Joker on instead?"

"You know damn well I would've ordered you back on the ship," Shepard said. "And you know damn well that you would've listened to me."

Garrus sighed. "You're right… I would've…"

"And honestly? I was glad you were back on the Citadel. It made it easy for me to know that you were okay."

"But it still wasn't easy for me…"

The hand rubbing his neck moved the scarred mandible. A frown appeared on Shepard's face, and her eyebrows furrowed with guilt. "I'm sorry…"

Garrus shook his head. "No… don't be sorry. None of us, even you, knew what would've happened."

"Okay. And Garrus… you mentioned that you thought I was dead twice… you still think about those first few months?"

Garrus slowly nodded. "I… keep having this dream… about when you put me back on the Normandy during the beam run…"

He heard her draw in a sharp breath at that, but he continued despite the lump that was starting to develop in his throat. "The dreams are different sometimes… sometimes, you wouldn't make it and Harbinger would…"

Shepard leaned her head slightly against the first long spine of his fringe and briefly kissed the base of it. "I'm here now… I'm ok… we're okay… we're here for each other now…"

Garrus' hold tightened more, and she could feel him shivering. Apparently, there were feeling he held back for too long and Shepard knew that he need to let it out. They've talked a little bit about the aftermath of the war, but not in too much detail. "Talk to me, Garrus," she whispered.

He inhaled before speaking. "Those… four months were worse than the two years you were gone. I… tried to numb myself from the what-ifs. The crew tried to talk to me, but I kept brushing them off. Remember the plaque they made for you for the memorial? I… just couldn't put it up, it made it so final. I… don't know if I ever told you this, but, when we finally left to get back to Earth, I… I grieved in the cabin for two days and I couldn't help but think of the injustice fate gave you and-"

At this point, Shepard could hear the flanging of Garrus' subharmonics, the memories clearly upsetting him. She put most emphasis on the massage she was giving him on his mandible, eventually moving back to his neck to feeling his leathery skin under her fingers. As she did, she planted a few kisses on his face and she could feel his mandibles twitching against her bare shoulder.

"I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere," she whispered. "For what it's worth… I'm so sorry for putting you through that pain…"

Shepard realized as Garrus started to shake that the pain he felt for those four months during their separation, along with all of his other fears, trauma, and loss, were still raw. Her own heart broke as she realized that after all this time since the end of the war that Garrus didn't have much of a chance to talk about his own PSTD. He had held her when she was down, encouraged her whenever she was unsure, and comforted her when she awoke shaking from her nightmares. Even though they were off the battle field, he always had her six.

She had a feeling that helping her get through her recovery and PSTD was a way for him to bury his own demons, letting himself not think about it. He was always helping her when she needed it, but he neglected in making sure he had the same help.

Shepard placed another kiss on his head. "I love you. I know that I have a road long to recovery, but you do, too. Don't think that just because you think I have it worse, that doesn't mean that I can't help you. If something's bothering you, you talk to me, okay?"

Shepard didn't think Garrus' hold on her could get any tighter, but it did and now she could hear the quiet keen vibrating against her skin. "I love you so much," he managed to say before the keening took over again.

Shepard shed her own quiet tears, but it didn't stop her from leaning her face into the side of his head and caressing her hand over his scarred mandible. For a while, they were both like this since Shepard knew that Garrus' needed this release. For months, he held her up when she was down. Now it was her turn to hold him.


	12. The Shadow Broker

"Morning, Shepard," said Garrus as entered the kitchen. He then leaned down to kiss the top of his lover's head.

Shepard smiled warmly at him, almost glad that she didn't take a bite of her meal right before that. "Good morning. Do you want anything for breakfast?"

"Nah, I'm fine with just a cup of kava," Garrus insisted. As though proving his point, he walked over to the coffee machine to start it up.

"So-"

"I-"

The both of them turned to look at each other as they realized they started to talk at the same time. Both of them smiled at each other with a light chuckle. It was definitely not the first time they did that.

"You first," Shepard quickly said.

"All right," Garrus said as he placed the dextro kava beans into the machine. "So I got a message from my Dad this morning."

Shepard looked up with interest. "Oh? What does he have to say?"

Garrus then placed his cup under the machine before pressing the button to let it begin grinding and brewing. He then walked over to the small table and sat in front of Shepard.

"How do you feel about going to Palaven in, say… two weeks?"

Shepard shrugged a little at that. "Why not? I assume your Dad wants us to visit?"

"Not only that," Garrus replied as he fiddled with his fingers a little. "But, well, my Dad is arranging a sort of… family reunion."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Who else aside from Solana?"

"Well, we'll finally meet her mate, Xarius," Garrus reminded her. "But mainly it'll be my Uncle Gallus, my Dad's younger brother, Aunt Aricia, and their sons, my cousins."

"Oh boy," Shepard sighed as she rested her head on her hand. She then smirked. "Well… are you sure they won't think that my presence will cause some sort of diplomatic incident?"

Garrus chuckled. "It'll be okay, Shepard. Believe it or not, Uncle Gallus is a little more easy-going compared to my Dad. He dated an asari once before I was born… needless to say, it didn't work. If anyone understands interspecies romance, it's him."

"I'm still not comforted by that," Shepard said. "Apparently any species dating an asari is more widely accepted than a turian-human relationship."

"We've never let that stop us before."

Shepard smiled. "True. Tell me about your cousins."

Garrus sighed a little. "Well… there were three of them. The youngest is Arek, he's about my age and practically one of my closest friends growing up. We even went to boot camp together. I haven't heard from him in a while, but as far as I know, he hasn't married yet. Then there's the middle child, Caius. He and his bondmate Drenya have two children, Calix and Zorana."

Garrus then looked down at the table. "The oldest was Cyllis. He and his bondmate Delphia had a son, Cassius. They… didn't make it through the war."

Shepard frowned as he took his hand. "I'm sorry, Garrus."

Garrus turned his hand so that their fingers intertwined. "No need to be sorry. From what Dad told me, they were lucky in a way… they died on the first day, so they never had to see the brunt of it all. We can only hope that they didn't suffer… or… turn into a marauder."

Shepard sucked in a breath at that. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that the husks, marauders, banshees, cannibals, pretty much all of those Reaper troops were once a person. Perhaps it was best to not think about it… it was better than thinking of the possibility that one of them could have been someone they once knew…

Garrus forced himself to grin at Shepard. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure Solana told them all about us, so at least they'll be prepared."

Shepard snorted at that. "Maybe."

"You're not scared, are you?"

Shepard smiled a little. "It's always naturally to feel nervous over meeting your boyfriend's family."

"True."

Finally, Shepard nodded. "All right, buy tickets for transport. In two weeks you said?"

Garrus activated his omni-tool to purchase transport tickets. "Yeah."

Shepard chuckled. "We just got back from Europe just last week."

"Hey, I didn't realize my Dad wanted to see us so soon. Oh, and we also have to get you an enviro-suit… radiation isn't very merciful to your delicate, human skin."

Shepard eyed him for that. "Since you put it that way, I'm just going to go without it. I'm sure an SP +5000 sun tan lotion exists somewhere."

"Whether you like it or not, you're wearing the suit," Garrus insisted. "Don't worry, it's only when we're outside."

Shepard sighed. "I'll think about it."

"Uh huh," Garrus grumbled. After finishing with purchasing tickets, he decided to change the subject. "What was it you wanted to say earlier?"

"Hmm? Oh! I got a message from Liara this morning."

Garrus' eyes widened at that. "Oh? What does she have to say?"

Shepard folded her arms on the table in front of her. "She so happens to be here in the Sol system as we speak."

"Really?"

"Yup. She's actually arrived to collect a few spare supplies on behalf of Thessia. And since she'll be here, she had hoped to come visit us tonight if possible. I didn't reply yet because I wanted to talk to you about it first."

"Of course she can visit," Garrus nodded. "Just don't encourage her to bring all of her Shadow Broker equipment."

Shepard laughed. "I think the worst she'll bring is a luggage full of datapads and maybe Glyph. However… she did mention that she'll be bringing a guest with her."

"Huh," Garrus said curiously. "Did she say who it was?"

Shepard shrugged. "She didn't say, but with the mention of fish, I'm going to assume it is Feron. Seafood is considered a staple in drell diet if I remember correctly. It'll be nice, though… we haven't seen Feron since we helped Liara take down the last Shadow Broker."

Garrus snorted at that. "Sorry I missed it. I was too busy being knocked out cold after the yahg introduced his desk to my head."

Shepard couldn't help the smirk on her face. "Yeah… that had to suck."

Garrus feigned hurt as he pulled back and placed a hand over his heart. "Why Shepard, I thought you'd be more worried about me."

Shepard's face turned a little serious. "Heck yeah I was. At the time though, I was more pissed off than anything. Did I tell you the first thing I said to the yahg after that happened?"

Garrus shook his head. "No."

Shepard smirked again. "I said to him…" Her voice then went low and almost menacing. "'Oh… _you_ are going down.'"

Garrus smiled. "Ah, so you did care."

Shepard reached across the table and playfully slapped him, grateful that he was wearing civilian clothing for once. "Hey, I hugged you when you woke up, remember?"

Garrus reached for her hand again to grasp it. "It still would've been nice to help you and Liara."

Shepard shrugged. "I know, but needless to say, we managed."

* * *

Later around noon, Shepard and Garrus went into town to get a few food supplies in preparation for Liara's arrival. At the levo store, Shepard remembered that Liara enjoyed salmon, so she purchased a few filets. For a side, she settled with a box of wild rice. Shepard then decided to compliment the dinner with Zinfandel wine.

At the dextro store, Garrus decided that it would make sense to have his own kind of fish as well. The market actually had its own fish tank to store a very popular fish that reminded Shepard of smaller barracudas, only they were a teal color. Shepard could only watch with both fascination and horror as the fish Garrus picked out was killed by decapitation, skinned, and cleaned before being packaged.

Well… at least it was fresh.

Because it was the first time Garrus got the fish since moving to their cabin, he offered to help Shepard cook tonight's dinner.

"How come?" Shepard asked curiously as she began to collect ingredients to get dinner ready to cook.

Garrus was grabbing his own ingredients for his dinner. "Well, I… want to show you how to make the fish the way my mother used to make it." He then pulled out a small container that had purplish herbs in it. "The number one thing to remember is to use two tablespoons of this stuff per fish. It has a somewhat salty taste that balances out the sweetness of the fish. It's actually dual chirality if you want to try it."

"Okay," Shepard said with a nod. "Not tonight when we have guests, but perhaps another night I'll try it."

Then a thought came to her. "Say, you told me about your Dad's side of the family. What about your Mom's?"

Garrus placed the container down on the counter as he began remove the wrapper from his dextro fish while Shepard arranged the levo ingredients and measuring equipment. "Solana and I were always closer to Dad's side of the family, but that's only because Mom's side lived on another part of Palaven. I really liked going there because they lived close to the Danorian Spires. If they're still there, I'd like to take you there someday. It's quite a sight.

"Anyway, my Mom was also the oldest and had two siblings; Aunt Nelia and Uncle Jairus. Nelia, unfortunately, lost her bondmate, Quintus, to the war… he… was stationed on our other moon, Nanus. Uncle Jairus didn't make it out, either. He didn't have a bondmate, but he had a mate who I only met once, Kacia. Well… it's more like we haven't heard from them since the end of the war and are assuming the worst."

"Any cousins?"

Garrus nodded. "Tavius, Aunt Nelia and Uncle Quintus's son. He's bonded to Lela and they have a daughter, Accallia."

"Huh," Shepard said as she realized something. "I just realized out of all of you and your cousins, Solana's the only girl."

Garrus had to chuckle at that. "Yeah, um, I remember Mom telling me how my paternal grandmother was thrilled when Solana was born. Of course, it was because Solana ended up being the first and only granddaughter. Of my grandparents' generation, my Mom's aunt is still alive as well as my Dad's uncle and aunt."

Shepard almost felt dizzy. "I have a feeling that I'm going to lose track of your family members."

Garrus laughed as he wrapped an arm around her. "You'll be fine, Shepard. And don't worry… they'll love you once they get to know you beyond saving the galaxy. You have to admit, that is a nice bonus."

"Maybe."

Later, the two were just pulling the dinner out of the oven when the doorbell rang. Shepard insisted on getting the door while Garrus began to set the table.

"Coming!" Shepard called out. Soon, she was able to reach the handle of the door and open it. She was met with the smiling face of Dr. Liara T'Soni.

"Shepard," Liara said. "It's good to see you."

The asari stepped forward and the two shared an embrace. "It's good to see you too, Liara. How is-"

Shepard suddenly stopped as she noticed the guest Liara brought with her. The person stood there with their arms folded in front of them, their eyes staring at Shepard. Her own eyes widen and her jaw nearly dropped to the floor because the guest was not who she expected.

"Javik?!"

Despite the surprise in Shepard's voice, Javik simply nodded as though it didn't matter. "Commander."

For a brief moment, Shepard had it in mind to grab the Prothean and pull him into a hug. However, she pushed the idea out quickly, figuring that Javik wouldn't really appreciate the gesture. Instead, she settled with a handshake, which Javik returned.

"It's good to see you," Shepard managed to say. By then, Garrus was approaching the door. He took gave Liara brief hug and also was shocked to see the Prothean right behind her.

"Well I'll be damned," Garrus managed to say as he reached to shake Javik's hand as well. "It's been a long time."

Javik nodded after shaking the turian's hand. "It has, though you shouldn't feel surprise to see me."

"That's only because I didn't tell them that you were the guest," Liara informed him. "I wanted to surprise them."

Javik seemed to huff at that. "Surprises… in my cycle, surprises were considered dangerous and potentially deadly."

Shepard couldn't help but smirk as she shook her head. She couldn't believe how much she almost missed Javik's pessimistic views and his 'in my cycle' stories.

The last time Shepard spoke to Javik was in London right before the run to the beam. He had informed her that when it was all over, he would go to the Croatian Nebula to rejoin his dead crew, feeling that his purpose in life was finished. There were a lot of questions in her mind, but Shepard decided to hold off on them for now.

"Either way," Javik continued. "It's… good to see you both." Naturally, Shepard and Garrus were little taken aback by the admission, but either way, they nodded to him in reply.

"Come on in," Garrus insisted. "Dinner's just about ready."

Soon, the four of them sat at the table in the kitchen. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they all managed to get it to where they didn't end up bumping each other white cutting the food on their plate.

"So I haven't heard a lot about the recovery on Thessia," Shepard said. "How is that going?"

"Not as bad as I initially imagined," Liara replied. "I… guess it was a blessing in a way that the Reapers came to Thessia close to the end of the war. The major cities were hit the hardest of course as well as our perimeters, but plenty of the suburbs further away from the cities were barely touched by the time the Crucible was activated. I personally arranged to make sure that the refugees there have a roof over their heads and many of the homes in the suburbs were used for that purpose."

Shepard nodded at that, glad to hear how Liara continues to help the refugees, something she subtly suggested to Liara after Thessia's fall. "And how has your government been?"

"They've received a lot of criticism for holding back the knowledge that could have saved many worlds had they shared it sooner. However, it seems be overshadowed by the criticism the salarian government have been getting."

"I remember there was a lot of tension between their politicians and STG," Garrus said.

Liara nodded. "Yes. STG knew that they couldn't sit back so they joined with allied forces anyway without the Dalatrass' approval. That was before you helped save Councilor Valern of course."

Shepard shook her head at this. Hearing stuff like this always reminded her why she hated politics. It's amazing to think how one politician's paranoia over what _may_ happen could affect so many.

Javik suddenly changed the subject as his four eyes gazed his surroundings. "Have you put up defenses around your fortress?"

"It's a house, Javik, not a fortress," Garrus corrected him. "We've got a sniper perch up in the attic, an alarm system, trip wires for the door and windows, cameras installed outside, and of course, we have our pistols hidden and stored in every reachable place you can think of.

Javik just happened to reach under the table. He quickly found what he was looking for and pulled his hand out to reveal Shepard's M-6 Carnifex, a heavy pistol that Mordin Solus had given to her when they first met on Omega.

Javik nodded in approval. "Very good. However, it's not good enough."

Garrus let out an exasperated sigh. "I am not surprised you said that. So tell me, why isn't it good enough?"

"You should carry a gun with you at all times," Javik suggested. "Even if you are a foot away from the nearest weapon, the enemy can still approach and it may be too late."

"It's only too late if said enemy was cloaked to begin with."

Garrus should've sworn that Javik was smirking. "That this why I have four eyes."

Garrus pointed at his visor. "I'll have you know that I don't wear this just to make a fashion statement."

"And here I thought that's what you've been doing this whole time," Shepard said with a smirk.

Garrus eyed her. "Very funny, Shepard. Hey, speaking of home defense, I was thinking about calling Zaeed one of these days to see if he had any new suggestions for this place."

Shepard's eyes widened at that and her smirk faded. "Ooooh no you don't!"

"Why not?" Liara asked curiously.

"Because the last thing I need is to accidentally drink cyanide from the faucet or have kitchen appliances explode in my face."

"Hey, I said I could put a timer on it," Garrus reminded her.

Shepard sighed. "How about we just get a guard varren and call it a day?"

Garrus seemed to fold his arms across his chest in defiance. "Not an option. The varren might decide to have Felix for lunch."

Now Liara was confused. "Felix?"

"Our pet cat," Shepard explained. "He's probably hiding somewhere in the house as we speak."

Javik shook his head. "What good is this 'cat' if they only hide?"

"He kills bugs and rodents," Shepard replied.

"In other words, he focuses on smaller nuisances while we worry about bigger intruders," Garrus added.

Liara managed to speak up before Javik said anything. "Has he tried to get to your hamster?"

Shepard snorted. "All the damn time."

For a few minutes afterwards, the four of them focused on eating their dinner. Shepard had noticed Javik picking at his food a little, but he did finish half his plate by the end of it. He always did seem to eat like a bird, but Shepard figured it was either because he usually preferred to eat alone, or because he was still trying to get used to the food of this cycle.

Soon, Garrus finally asked the question that was on Shepard's mind. "So Javik, what happened to you? Shepard told me that you were on your way to the Croatian Nebula months ago."

"I was almost there too," Javik mentioned. He then turned his head to glare at Liara. "She stopped me."

"I wasn't about to let you throw your life away," Liara explained.

"So what changed your mind?" Shepard asked.

Javik leaned back in the chair he was sitting on. "She convinced me that I should give myself the chance to live in peace… if not for me, then at least for my people, those who never had the chance to know what peace felt like." He glared at Liara again. "She pesters too much."

"Even now you need pestering," Liara said.

Shepard snorted at this. ' _Kasumi's right… they do argue like an old married couple_.' She almost wanted to voice that out loud, but decided that it wasn't necessary right now.

"Have you started on that… project you wanted to start?" Shepard asked.

Liara was almost confused by the question, but then she quickly realized what Shepard was asking. "Oh yes, the book I wanted to write. Yes, we actually started, 'Journeys with a Prothean,' very recently. Right now, we've been discussing about the Prothean civilization before their Reaper war."

Javik shrugged. "I needed the job."

"Oh hush," Liara said. "Besides, you said it yourself, you enjoy writing the book with me."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I have to admit it."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with admitting something you genuinely like," Shepard mentioned.

"Perhaps."

"Hey, can I make a suggestion for the book?" Garrus questioned.

Liara smiled. "Sure, Garrus. What is it?"

"Well, if you ever need a promotional quote in the back of the book, have it say, 'I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite book in the galaxy!'"

Shepard immediately rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah, yeah…"

"That reminds me," Liara said. "Where did that… idea come from? I hear Garrus and Tali say similar things all the time, but I haven't had the chance to inquire."

"Well, back when we were with Cerberus," Shepard began to answer. Saying, 'Cerberus' always gave her a bad taste in her mouth, but she ignored it. "Whenever we went to the shops on Zakera Ward, I would visit a store and offer to advertise in exchange for a discount."

"Except every store we went to would say, 'I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel,'" Garrus added.

"That was foolish," Javik pointed out. "The enemy could have potentially waited for you at a store knowing that it was your favorite."

Shepard smirked at him. "And aside from getting a discount, that's another reason why my promotion was heard in multiple stores… to confuse the enemy."

There was a long silence follow that as Javik gave Shepard a blank stare. No one could guess what the Prothean was thinking at this point.

Then, Javik opened his mouth. "Touché."

That got a laugh from everyone.

* * *

Later, Shepard realized that Javik had more than his share of the wine she bought earlier today. She had to guess that, back in his cycle, there wasn't much alcohol to be passed around and there was a good chance that the Prothean currently passed out on the living room couch didn't have much of an opportunity to indulge until this cycle.

"Only four glasses and he's out like a light," Garrus sighed. "I hate to think what would happen if we gave him the hard stuff, or worse, ryncol."

"Better if we don't find out." Shepard said.

"I wouldn't mind going outside for some fresh air," Liara suggested.

"You two go ahead," Garrus encouraged. "I'll keep Javik occupied in case he wakes up."

"Just make sure he does wake up and then pass out again in the master bathroom," Shepard said as thy both went outside.

On the front porch, they sat in the two wicker chairs separated by the small matching table. Liara gazed at the view. From this point, it was mainly a field with a few trees and a couple of houses her and there. "This is nice," she admitted. "I can see why you both chose to live here."

"Well, Garrus actually chose this place," Shepard mentioned. "But we both like it. It's quiet and peacefully. It's… something we both kind of need right now. Don't get me wrong, I miss being a soldier, but it's nice to see what peace looks like."

"I almost forget that myself," Liara said. "But for right now, I'm content with my work."

"Speaking of your work, were you able to find a place to store your equipment after you left the Normandy?" Shepard asked.

"I did," Liara replied. "I managed to salvage a small ship so I can keep my operations running. The best past is that unlike the ship on Hagalaz, its space worthy. Now I can travel to where I'm most needed without leaving anything behind."

"It also makes it harder for anyone to track you," Shepard said.

Liara chuckled. "That's exactly what Javik said."

"Hey, I have to admit, when you mentioned that you were bringing a guest, I initially thought it was Feron."

"I had a feeling you thought of him," Liara said. "But Feron is doing well. He's been helping with recovery in nearby colonies. Most of my surviving agents have been doing the same since I re-established contact with them."

"Speaking of contact," Shepard started to say. "Just remember that you can contact me at any time. If things start getting stressful and you need to talk, I'm just a vid-call away."

Liara nodded. "I'll be all right, but I appreciate the thought. Besides, with Javik around, it's not like I'm alone on the ship."

Shepard smiled. "You two must… bicker quite a bit."

Liara sighed, but there was a soft smile on her own face. "Only when we're not working on the book."

They both fell quite for a few moments until Shepard turned to her asari friend. "Hey, out of curiosity, you didn't happen to bring a datapad with scoop on me, did you?"

Liara to give her a knowing look before she handed her a datapad Shepard noticed she brought outside with her. "There have been news articles about your volunteer work in Geneva and your attendance to Anderson's memorial service. That's the recent stuff. Other than that, there's only other thing I'm sure you haven't heard of yet. It was a vid-call. I was only able to dig up texts, but it should get the message clear."

Shepard took the datapad in her hand and began to read its contents;

_Ambassador Calyn: With enthusiasm, I recommend naming the newest built office plaza on Ottan after Commander Shepard._

_Salezo: Unsure, why?_

_Ambassador Calyn: With heavy heart, because it was Commander Shepard who helped us with extracting our soldiers and civilians when all others turned us away. With enthusiasm, this will be one of many ways that we can honor the savior of the galaxy._

_Salezo: Unsure, I will discuss this with the other diplomats. We will call you later once we have an answer._

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Wow, so now all I need is schools named after me."

Liara chuckled at that. "That wouldn't surprise me."

Still, Shepard smiled. "I was glad to help the elcor when I did. I didn't expect anything in return from them… from anyone, really."

"The galaxy does have their way of thanking you," Liara said. She then looked at Shepard. "My personal thanks are simply with words… if I live to be a thousand, my adventures with you will be one I will never forget. I learned so much from you. I still wish I could've joined you when you were stuck with Cerberus when I was on Illium."

Shepard patted her shoulder. "Thanks. And don't worry about Illium… like I've said before, you made up for it."

Liara smiled as she leaned back against the chair. "I still have the box containing information about the galaxy. I'm glad I'll never need to distribute it."

"Me, too."

Liara then turned her head to look at her Commander. "So… do you want me to inform you if any other buildings and places are named after you?"

Shepard shook her head, though she couldn't help her smirk. "Nah… just tell me anything that needs my immediate attention."

Liara nodded. "All right."


	13. Palaven

For the first time since before the final assault in London during the Reaper War, Shepard found herself looking at the stars from a space ship. There was a faint, blue glow in front of the window due to the ship's FTL travel, but one could still see the glittering stars beyond that. Although Shepard was fine with the life she had now, seeing the sight made her realize how much she missed the sight of the empty void beyond the window.

Garrus had booked them a private room when he brought tickets for a transport to Palaven. He figured that Shepard would not only appreciate the privacy, but also the fact that they won't have to worry too much about running into other passengers who could either praise or scold her for her actions in the war.

At this point, they had been on the ship for only a few hours. Neither of them slept well last night, but that was mainly from the anticipation of visiting Garrus' home world for two weeks. Garrus was looking forward to seeing his family after so long. Shepard was nervous about meeting his extended family, glad to have already met his father and sister.

They both watched through the window as the ship took off from the spaceport and Earth became smaller and smaller until it was nothing more than a small dot. It wasn't long before they went through the Sol system's mass relay, one of the few amongst the galaxy completely repaired since the end of the war. Because of that, the next part of the trip would take the ship two days to travel before they reached the next repaired mass relay. That relay would take them straight to the relay to Trebia, where Palaven was located.

Once they went through the first relay, Garrus and Shepard chose that time to take a small nap. However, Shepard found that she couldn't relax, baffled to realize that the hum of the engines was keeping her awake. The noise had helped her sleep back on the Normandy. Any place without some form of white noise would keep her awake. Now, it looks like the two facts had been switched.

It's definitely been way too long since she was last on a ship.

So while Garrus caught up with his own nap, Shepard went over to the window to admire the stars. She thought about her talks with the asari justicar Samara whenever she visited her in the Starboard Observation room. Samara had visited her once in the hospital after she woke up from her coma, thanking her for seeing the end of the war and that it had been an honor to know her. Samara intended to go to Lesuss to keep her promise to see her last surviving daughter, Falere. Samara did message Shepard afterwards, letting her know that Falere was safe and reminded her that she will come whenever Shepard called.

Shepard also thought about when she looked into space during her first ride on the Normandy SR1, mainly the view of Earth as it became smaller and smaller the further the ship went out. As a new XO, she remembered feeling both excited and nervous.

Shepard tried not to think about the time when she was spaced…

It wasn't very long before Garrus joined her at the window. It turned out he wasn't able to nap either. "Why do I get the feeling that sleeping is going to be hell later?"

Shepard had to chuckle a little at that. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Moving himself behind her, Garrus wrapped his arms around her waist and he felt her palms cover his hands. He buried the scarred side of his face into the top of her head. "Did I ever tell you about the first time I ever saw space?"

Shepard shook her head. "You know, I don't think you ever did. Tell me about it."

Garrus moved his head so that his chin was resting on top of Shepard's head, his blue eyes looking out into the void. "Solana and I were just kids… I want to say I was maybe four of five years old at the time. Until I joined the military, my family and I would split our time between Palaven and the Citadel."

"Didn't that affect you and Solana with school or anything?" Shepard asked.

Garrus shook his head. "All turian schools around the galaxy followed the same curriculum depending on age. So, we can move from one world to another and not be too far behind on our learning."

"That must've been nice," Shepard said.

"Anyway," Garrus continued. "Dad started his job at C-Sec not too long before our first trip to visit him on the Citadel. I remember seeing pictures of space when our schools taught us about all the different planets and systems, and I was looking forward to seeing the real thing. Mom had Solana and I all bundled up because the temperature at the spaceport was a few degrees cooler than what we were used to, which was funny because I remember being hot the whole time. She even spoiled us with some _glacies cremorem_ , which is basically a sweet treat."

Shepard chuckled. "My translator just translated that as ice cream."

Garrus shrugged. "It was cold, creamy, and it came in different flavors."

Shepard grinned. "That's definitely ice cream."

"Anyway," Garrus proceeded. "We got to watch the ship leave Palaven through the observation window. Our room also had a window, and I spent most of the time watching through it, seeing the stars and all the different colors that the gasses created. I think Mom had thought Solana and I would be scared, but instead, we were both staring out the window in wonder. Solana didn't stare out into the void as much as I did, however. Once we were on the Citadel, well, let's just say that Solana and I forgot all about space."

"I imagine seeing so many different species in one place caught your attention," Shepard pointed out.

Garrus laughed. "It sure did. Sometimes when we were there, we stayed at this daycare for the children of C-Sec and government employees. We were considered 'misfits' on the first day."

Shepard laughed as well. "Why am I not surprised to hear that?"

Garrus' mandibles flared into a grin. "Solana got into a fight with a volus about our age over something I can't remember, and she pushed him. Poor kid went rolling halfway across the room. _Then_ , she tried to pull on one hanar 's leg. I think I remember him saying something along the lines of-" Garrus then tried to imitate a hanar's speaking voice. "' _This one believes the Enkindlers would be frowning upon your devious actions_.'"

Shepard tried to maintain her laughter. All of this shouldn't be funny, and yet she couldn't help her giggles. "And what did you do that made you a 'misfit?'"

Garrus sighed. "You wouldn't believe it…"

"Oh tell me."

Garrus cleared his throat. "I pulled a human girl's hair."

Shepard stopped holding back her laughter. "That's so mean! Why did you do that?"

"I was curious what human hair felt like!" Garrus replied. "I went to touch it, but then she moved and her hair got caught in my talons. Imagine my surprise when I realized pulling human hair actually hurts them."

"Did she cry?" Shepard asked.

"No, but she did turn around and pulled on my mandibles pretty hard. We may seem like we're made of steel, but we really have some sensitive nerves there. It hurt like hell."

Shepard reached up and patted his good mandible. "You poor thing."

"Naturally, I survived my first encounter with a human," Garrus replied. He then decided to change the subject as he thought of something. "Are you hungry? As much as I like looking out the window, I wouldn't mind grabbing a bite to eat. What about you?"

Shepard shrugged. "Sure, why not? Let's just hope the food is decent on this ship."

The two of them began to leave the room. "It can't be any worse than Gardner's meals from the Collector mission," Garrus mentioned.

Shepard snorted. "You'd be very, very surprised."

* * *

Two days later, Palaven came into view, and everyone abroad prepared to depart the transport. As they did, an announcer began to speak over the PA system.

" _Welcome to Palaven. We will be landing in the planet capital of Cipritine shortly. This is a friendly reminder that all visitors must wear breathing masks when outdoors due to the current environment. They will be provided at the security gate and must be returned upon leaving Palaven. Due to the radiation on the planet, all human visitors must wear enviro-suits or any other radiation protection to protect your skins. These will also be provided at security and must be returned upon leaving Palaven. The current time on Cipritine is; 17.12 hours. We hope that you enjoy your visit. Have a pleasant day._ "

Shepard let out an exasperated sigh after the announcement was done. "Guess I'll know how Tali feels wearing an enviro-suit soon enough."

"They do have lotions that you can use, but it only lasts a few hours," Garrus mentioned. "I'm sure we can pick some up if they're available."

"Sure," Shepard agreed. "Maybe I can switch between the two or something."

Garrus grinned. "There's also gene therapy where they can give you shots to thicken your skin."

Shepard chuckled. "Maybe if we were planning to live here permanently, but other than that, I'll pass."

Shepard turned her head towards the window as Palaven came into view. The only time she had seen the planet was when it was burning during the war. On Menae, one of Palaven's two moons, she remembered how Garrus had avoided looking up at his home. The one time he did when they went to search for Victus, he pointed out where he was born, which turned out to be the one with the biggest blaze of orange. Shepard could only imagine the devastation left behind in that moment.

Garrus had since learned that aside from a couple of scorch marks around the property and some possessions being looted, the Vakarian household managed to survive the war. The rebuilding effort in and around Cipritine had started some time ago, but according to his father, there was still a long way to go before the city would be back to the way it was before the devastation.

Shepard took another deep breath. "It's going to be hot as hell, isn't it?" she asked.

"Not like Therum," Garrus replied. "It's more like… Virmire."

Shepard only nodded solemnly, her mind briefly on Ashley and her sacrifice on that planet.

Soon, the ship landed at the spaceport. Before the trip, Garrus had called the Cipritine Spaceport and requested a cart for their luggage so that Shepard wasn't forced to carry any. Shepard was reluctant to have him make the request at first, but then she convinced him to at least let her carry a backpack. The cart was waiting for them at the gate.

Once they were ready, the two of them headed through security and customs. There, they received their breathing masks along with both Shepard's enviro-suit and sunblock. Since they didn't plan to be outdoors much between here and the Vakarian home, Shepard went ahead and put the lotion on her face, neck, and arms, the only skin currently exposed.

Throughout their whole time at the spaceport, it wasn't hard for Shepard to notice the stares from those around them, mostly turian. Most of them stares were neutral while some either were with curiosity or disdain. Whether or not it was because she was a human or Commander Shepard was only her guess, but she'd rather be guessing than to find out. She didn't want her first trip to Palaven to start off on a bad note.

It took some time to get through customs, but once that was done, it didn't take them long to find Garrus' father, Castis. He waited near the spaceport exit and was sitting down on a bench until he spotted his son and the commander. From there, he got up and met them halfway.

"Welcome home, son," Castis greeted as he reached a hand out. Garrus took it and the two shook hands.

"Hey Dad," Garrus replied. "It's good to be home."

Castis nodded before turning his head. "Shepard, it's good to see you again. You're looking well."

"It's good to see you, too," Shepard replied with a smile. "I'm still recovering from my injuries, but they've been slowly improving day by day."

"Yes, Garrus told me all about it," Castis informed her. "Now, let's head to the house. You're sister has been antsy all day waiting for your arrival."

Garrus laughed. "I can only imagine."

From there, the three of them put on their breathing masks and went outside to begin heading over to where Castis parked his skycar. Shepard immediately felt the heat of Palaven hitting her face the second she took her first step outside. Garrus was right about one thing… it wasn't as hot as Therum, but she wondered if the comparison to Virmire was warranted. Then again, on Virmire, they were near a large body of water, making their surroundings a little cooler.

The ride to the Vakarian household was quiet as Shepard and Garrus both found themselves looking out the window. There were so many buildings that were destroyed from the war, but Shepard had noticed that if there were ever any debris on the streets, most of them had been cleared out. There were also signs of rebuilding as the turians fixed buildings that were salvageable. Those that were too badly damaged to save were demolished and new buildings began to replace them.

"The salarians have built us a kind of shroud on top of one of the surviving buildings in Cipritine," Castis explained at one point. "It's helped to improve the atmosphere here, though we think it'll be another year before we can go outside without breathing masks."

Garrus did have a small concern about that. "With Urdnot Wrex running the show on Tuchanka, we're pretty safe from the krogan getting revenge for the genophage. However, what if, somehow, something happens to Wrex and we get some tyrant krogan like Wreav who wants to, well… the humans have this saying, 'an eye for an eye.'"

"The salarians made sure it was well hidden and hard to find," Castis explained. "It's also heavily guarded so that no one tampers with it."

Garrus nodded. "That's good to know."

"And look on the bright side, Garrus," Shepard began to point out. "We don't have to worry about Wreav anymore. You were there when he became a thresher maw's lunch."

"Hmm," Garrus hummed. "Yes I was."

"I don't think I want to know what that's about," Castis spoke up.

"Stuff that happened the day the genophage was cured," Shepard mentioned.

Castis couldn't help but shake his head a little. "Sometimes, I find it hard to believe that my own son had a hand in ending not only the genophage, but also centuries of feuding between the turians and the krogan."

"If anyone deserves the credit, it's Mordin Solus," Garrus replied. "He was the one who created the cure _and_ he was the one who delivered it to the shroud to make sure the cure spreads throughout Tuchanka. Shepard and I, along with a squad mate named Javik, helped along the way."

Castis turned his head a little towards Shepard's direction to acknowledge her while still keeping his eyes on the road. "Shepard, is it true that the dalatrass tried to cut a secret deal with you? I tried to dig for information on that a while ago, but I found nothing on it, so I was hoping that you can confirm it for me."

Shepard immediately nodded. "Yes. Dalatrass Linron had believed that the peace wouldn't last and tried to suggest making it look like the cure was released in exchange for full support of the salarian fleet. I was not about to agree to letting the krogan go extinct based on what _might_ happen. Besides, Wrex is hell of a lot smarter than she gave him credit for… he would've caught the deception for sure. Honestly, I never even considered taking the offer. Either way, the salarians joined us in the end after I helped save their councilor."

"I'm glad you didn't," Castis replied. "A few years ago, I would have agreed with the dalatrass, but the war had proved the krogan's capabilities and they had assisted us greatly. With the cure, the turians have gained a strong ally. Since the end of the war, we've been helping each other immensely in the rebuilding process for both home worlds."

By this point, they reached the Vakarian property and Castis began to park in front of the house. After shutting the car off, Castis turned his full attention to Shepard. "If you hadn't helped, who knows what would have happened to Solana and I."

Shepard simply nodded in reply, feeling lost for words. From there, Castis and Garrus began getting out of the war with Garrus helping Shepard out.

"There you are!" a female voice called out. At the same time, running steps were heard on the pavement.

His mandibles flaring in a grin, Garrus turned around to face his sister. Just as he saw her, Solana was already close enough to practically run into him, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug. Garrus let out an ' _oomph!_ ' before returning the hug.

"About time you got your ass home," Solana said as she pulled back to regard her brother. "Even if it's only for two weeks."

Garrus punched his sister's arm playfully. "If it will make you feel better, I can make this the worst two weeks of your life."

Solana returned the playful punch. "You _would_ do that!"

His sister then turned her attention to Shepard. Her own mandibles flared into a grin before she approached her for a hug. "Hi, Shepard. How are you?"

Shepard smiled as she returned the embrace. "I'm still recovering, but I'm much better than when I was in the hospital. How about you?"

"I'm good," Solana replied. "I imagine there's a lot to talk about between all of us."

As Solana spoke, Garrus happened to notice someone near the front door of the house. Turning his attention, he noticed a male turian watching the reunion from where he stood. Garrus had an idea of who this particular turian was.

"I assume that includes the soldier you met during the war."

Solana noticed her brother looking past her soldier. She turned to face the turian by the door. "Come over here!" she called out to him. "They don't bite."

The male turian's eyes seemed to brighten a little as he began to walk towards them. "I know, but it's not every day that you meet the great Commander Shepard, especially on the same day you meet your mate's equally famous brother."

"Hey don't let the media fool you about what they say about me," said Shepard. She then grinned as she turned to her lover. "Garrus on the other hand…"

"Hey, the media loves exaggeration," Garrus pointed out.

"Anyway," Solana began to say. "Garrus, Shepard, this is Xarius Anagnos. Xarius, this is my brother Garrus and his mate, Shepard, as you already guessed."

Xarius reached out a hand and Garrus took it in a handshake. "It's an honor to finally meet Solana's brother," he said. He then shook hands with Shepard. "And of course, it's an honor to meet you, Commander."

"Nice to meet you, too," Shepard replied. "And please, call me Shepard."

By then, Shepard got a good look at Xarius white colony markings, which were simpler than the ones she usually sees - two lines across each cheek and one long one going through the middle fringe.

"Come on, let's go inside," Solana suggested. "I have some dual-chirality wine that we can all share."

"Sounds good," Garrus replied as the five of them went inside the house.

The first thing Shepard noticed when they stepped inside was how big the place was… then, she realized that it was only big because there wasn't a lot of furniture to fill up the big space. Aside from the house being looted during the war, Garrus had also mentioned that his father had to sell a lot of their valuable possessions when his mother was in the hospital.

Speaking of his mother, Shepard did notice one table against the wall off to the side. It contained a picture of a turian woman with the Vakarian blue colony marking. She was almost the splitting image of Solana with the same peach skin and blue eyes Garrus also shared, only Mrs. Vakarian had a darker shade of gray plates. Her two children clearly inherited the lighter gray plates from their father. In the picture, she was on a beach and her mandibles flares into a soft smile as she looked past the camera. Surrounding the picture were some trinkets of small statues and jewelry along with a couple of lit candles.

Garrus had noticed the table as well and had stared at it briefly before he and Shepard continued to follow his family to the living room.

"So how was the trip?" Castis asked as he, Garrus, Shepard, and Xarius sat down while Solana went into the kitchen to get their wine.

"A little long with some of the relays still being repaired, but it was quiet most of the way there," Garrus replied.

"No being mobbed by the media, I assume?"

"Thankfully, no," Shepard said.

"I heard about what happened to you in Toronto a few months ago," Castis continued. "If you don't mind me asking, are humans always that… aggressive when they try to interview people?"

"Only those in gossip news," Shepard explained. "Unfortunately, there's a market for those who love to get juicy details on the private lives of well-known people. Those who get those details are paid much more than they deserve. Some will even go as far as breaking into your home just for that one picture that could be worth more than enough for the seller to live comfortably for quite a number of years."

"What's the point of all of that aside from the money?" asked Xarius. "I mean, isn't it better for your people to hear about news that's more important, like your accomplishments?"

"Unfortunately, there are those out there who would rather hear about the private lives of the famous than what's going on around the galaxy," Shepard replied. "It's a way for them to escape what's going on around them in real life. Thankfully, not all of us humans, myself included, enjoy that sort of thing and would rather watch real news. But one would have to be careful because even some serious news outlets tend to exaggerate, even the Alliance News Network which is what I mostly watch."

By then, Solana had returned with five glasses for each person and the bottle of wine, all which she set on the table before sitting herself to serve herself first. "What did I miss?" she asked as she poured the wine.

"Just complaining about the human media and their means of exaggeration," Garrus replied as he took the bottle when his sister was done.

"That's why I prefer turian news," Solana said. "It's not a race thing, but I prefer to hear the truth than some gossip. I hear asari news can be pretty bad, too. Apparently, they tend to gloss everything over. The only other news source I could maybe trust would be salarian news outlets, but they talk so damn fast!"

Garrus had to chuckle at that as he passed the bottle to Shepard. "It's probably hard to keep up if you're not paying attention. Though there is this salarian comedian Shepard and I like to watch on the vids whenever he does stand-up routines. He talks fast, but he always makes a point to keep a certain beat so that all species are able to catch on to his punch lines."

Shepard happened to look at the bottle she was holding before she poured it. "You said this was dual-chirality, Solana?"

"Yes," Solana nodded. "I actually bought a few different ones and stocked up on some levo foods and snacks before you came over. To be honest, I'm not sure what I bought, but I figured at least you wouldn't go hungry."

Shepard smiled as she poured the wine. "I appreciate the thought." She then passed the bottle to Castis before turning to Solana's mate. "So tell us how you met Solana, Xarius."

Xarius straightened up in his seat as he suddenly found himself the center of attention. "Um, hmm… I'm not sure where to start…"

"Solana mentioned that you're from Digeris," Garrus mentioned.

"Oh, yes," Xarius said as he cleared his throat. "I, eh, spent most of the war guarding the colony, at least until the forces on Palaven were depleting. Because we were stretched thin, the ship I was XO on went to Palaven to help out. Eventually, we were asked to evacuate civilians and it was my shuttle that happened to pick up Solana and Castis. We got many civilians to safer colonies, but Solana and Castis insisted that they help. That gave me the time to get to know Solana, and well… you can imagine how that turned out. Our ship went with you during the final assault."

"Tell us about your family," Shepard encouraged.

Xarius' mandibles flicked a little. "Well, my parents died years ago when I a child… skycar accident. My two sisters and I were raised by our father's sister and her husband. They also had a son. Aside from losing our parents, we had a pretty good childhood."

"Did any of them survive the war?" asked Garrus.

Xarius sighed a little. "I consider myself lucky compared to so many others. The only one I lost was my youngest sister, Elania. It was… a sad irony because she was just a civilian working for the turian embassy on Digeris. Yet it was myself, my other sister, and our cousin who were in the military with the higher chance of dying… and the three of us ended up surviving. Elania was… on Palaven accompanying our Ambassador on a trip there when the Reapers hit…"

Shepard frowned upon hearing this. "I'm sorry."

Xarius shook his head. "Everyone lost at least one person to the war. All we can hope for now is that Elania's death was quick and painless." His green eyes then shifted towards Shepard and Garrus. "You two did so much during the war. Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't fought so hard to end it."

"Anyone could have done it," Garrus pointed. "Shepard and I just happened to know more about the Reapers than anyone else."

"It was that knowledge that got all turian colonies to update our emergency protocols. Things looked bad in the end, but it could have been worse. Digeris had some bumps and bruises, but compared to other words, the colony got out in much better condition. I really believe those protocols and updates you pushed for really helped us in the end."

Garrus nodded solemnly. "It looks like my efforts really did buy us some time…"

Solana decided to change the subject, not wanting to talk more about the war. "I don't think I told you this Garrus, but Xarius was once a police detective on Digeris."

Garrus snorted as he grinned. "Solana, is this your attempt to rub in my past as a C-Sec officer?"

Xarius had to grin as well. "Solana told me about your time at C-Sec. Personally, I stayed within the rules, but I can understand the frustration of red tape. That was what I was doing for a while before a friend of mine from boot camp offered me the XO position on the ship I served on. I initially planned to stay on for a few years because of the higher pay, plus with the free room and board, it would've helped me save some money so I could have a more stable future. In the end, I donated half my savings towards the recovery efforts."

"He plans to return to the police force once things are calmer here on Palaven," Castis explained.

"You want to work here on Palaven?" asked Garrus.

Xarius nodded. "I'd like to. Right now, I'm helping with recovery in Cipritine."

Shepard then turned to Solana. "What have you been doing, Solana?"

"I've been helping out at the hospital," Solana replied. "Before Mom became ill, I was a medic for the turian military. Since we came back to Palaven after the war, I got a job at the Cipritine Medical Hospital since the hospital needed more people. They consider me a nurse there even though I'm not registered as one. I am currently in training so that I can become a registered nurse."  Solana's mandibles flared in a grin. "Of course, I took the next two weeks off so I can spend them with my brother and his mate."

"Now that you have all this time for us, what you want to do during our two week stay?" Garrus asked.

"Primarch Victus did want to meet with you two for lunch at some point," Castis explained.

"Yes I spoke with him a few days ago," Garrus replied. "He said he would contact us when he has the time."

"Also," Solana spoke up. "Uncle Gallus and the rest of the surviving family are coming over tomorrow."

"Already?" Garrus asked with wide eyes. "I figured it would be a few more days before we see them."

"Gallus has business to attend to in a few days up north," Castis said. "So tomorrow would be the best time for all of us to get together."

Garrus turned his attention to his brother's mate. "Have you ever met the rest of the family?"

Xarius shook his head. "No."

"Nervous?"

Xarius grinned. "Yes, but I can only imagine how nervous Shepard is."

Shepard eyed him. "Thanks for rubbing it in. Though I have to admit, after what Garrus told me, I don't feel as nervous about meeting Uncle Gallus compared to the rest of the family."

"I assume he told you about the asari he dated when we were young," Castis pointed out.

"Yeah… I told her about that," Garrus said.

"If anything," Solana cut in. "The only ones you really have to worry about is the older generation and _maybe_ Mom's side of the family, but you won't be meeting any of them, at least not on this trip."

Castis looked at Shepard. "Nelia, my wife's sister, had her 'concerns' about Gallus' ex-mate all those years ago. She never explained those 'concerns,' but our guess is that either it was a race thing or it was because of the person herself."

Solana explained. "She was an ex-Eclipse member."

"I can see why Nelia had her concerns," Shepard said. "But either way, I'm still nervous about meeting them."

"Once they get to know you, they'll love you," Solana said. "If Dad here can be fond of both you and Xarius, the rest of the family will, too."

"And Dad's not easily impressed most of the time," Garrus pointed out.

"Garrus, Xarius was a police detective who follows the rules even with the frustration of red tape and Shepard is the savior of the galaxy. Of course that's going to impress him."

"Still, he had to look past the fact that Shepard's a spectre."

Castis glared at both of his children. "There's no need to talk as though I'm not in the room."

"Sorry," Solana apologized.

"I've said it before, Solana, Xarius is exactly the kind of turian I hoped for you. He's responsible, does his job within the rules, and has contributed to the hierarchy with honor."

"Huh," Garrus huffed. "I seem to recall Solana rebelling against courting those kinds of men."

Solana grasped onto Xarius's hand, who returned the gesture. "Good thing Xarius has a sense of humor then."

"Aaand I imagine none of you ever thought Garrus would end up with a human," Shepard said with a grin.

"Not at all," Solana replied with a laugh. "But you're not just any human, Shepard."

Shepard took a deep breath. "You have no idea how many times I've heard that and not just over my love life either."

Xarius chuckled suddenly as he turned his head to the human. "That reminds me, I have to thank you for something else, Shepard."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at him. "For what?"

Xarius grinned. "For taking the pressure off of me when we meet the rest of the family."

Shepard narrowed her eyes as Garrus laughed next to her. "… Very funny."

As the five of them continued to talk more, Garrus was glad that Xarius indeed had a sense of humor… he couldn't imagine Solana courting him otherwise. Even so, he would keep an eye on him and make sure that he continued to make his sister happy. Then again, his father did like him, so he was sure that there wasn't much to worry about.

The only thing that Garrus had to worry about now at this point was what his extended family would think of Shepard. He was sure that tomorrow was going to be a long day…


	14. The Vakarian Family

The next morning on Palaven, Garrus and Shepard woke up to a vid-call from Garrus' omni-tool. Realizing that it was a priority message, Garrus sat up from his bed as he placed the omni-tool bracelet around his wrist. Once that was done, he turned it on and the screen revealed the face of a turian with dark gray plates, brown skin, white colony markings, and brown-hazel eyes.

"Primarch Victus," Garrus greeted as he saluted him briskly with his free hand.

"Vakarian," Victus replied with a nod. "I heard you and Shepard made it to Palaven yesterday from your father."

Garrus nodded. "Yes, we arrived just before sunset last night."

"Good, it sounds like you had a safe trip. Anyway, I'm calling because I had time in my schedule this afternoon and I wanted to invite you and Shepard for lunch at my office. I'm sorry that the invitation came at the last minute, but my schedule has been unpredictable these past few weeks."

"Of course we can come for a visit," Garrus replied. Next to him, Shepard was stretching on the bed they were sharing as she quietly let out a yawn. "What time would you like for us to get there?"

"Around 13.00 would be most preferred," Victus said. "We'll have a couple hours to ourselves, so unless an emergency comes up, we won't be interrupted."

"Sounds good, I'll see you then."

The vid-call ended as Shepard sat up. "It sounds like we're having lunch with Victus."

Garrus nodded. "I figured since my family won't be here until the evening and we're not doing anything else, now would be a good time to visit Victus."

"It also sounds like he's been busy," Shepard pointed out.

"There's so much to do with organizing the rebuilding efforts."

Shepard shook her head. "That doesn't surprise me at all." She looked at the time and noticed that it was just past 10.00 hours. "Huh, I think we slept in quite late."

Garrus shrugged. "We did stay up pretty late last night too watching vids with Solana and Xarius and playing those human board games Solana became fond of after the war."

Shepard had to grin at that. "She was pretty good at Monopoly, I must admit."

By then, Garrus was out of bed and began to go through his luggage to retrieve his day clothes. While he did that, Shepard used her hands to assist her legs so that they swung over the side of the bed. "Do you think I'll need to wear the enviro-suit today?" she asked.

"Honestly, I don't think so," Garrus replied. "We'll only be outside just to get from the house to the car, then to the car to the embassy office, then from the office to the car, then to the car and back to the house. Unless you want to go down to the shopping district for a few hours before they get here."

Shepard shook her head as she placed her hand on the nightstand. "I don't think so."

Using the nightstand as leverage, Shepard began to push herself to stand up, but then the hand on the table suddenly slipped forward and she began to fall face first to the ground. Luckily, Garrus was right there and he was able to catch her before she hit the floor. From there, he helped her to stand up.

"You okay?" he asked with concern.

Shepard sighed as she leaned her forehead into his chest. "Yeah, I'm fine." She then looked up at him. "Whoever waxed that table did a damn good job apparently."

Garrus looked over at the table, noticing the shine on top. "I'll put a table mat or something over it before we go to bed tonight."

Shepard nodded before she leaned her head into his chest again. "I really hate this… it shouldn't be a struggle to get out of bed in the morning…"

Garrus rubbed her back in comfort. "I know, sweetheart." He leaned down to press a kiss on top of her head.

"Your extended family wouldn't look down on me because of… my legs, would they?"

Garrus looked at her. "Why would you think so?"

Shepard shrugged. "I don't know. It might be my ignorance talking, but I don't think I've ever seen a turian with any sort of… physical disability."

"Oh they definitely exist," Garrus pointed out. "Most are from injuries while serving in the military. We do have those born with physical disabilities, some that would prevent them from being soldiers. They still serve their required time, but the hierarchy will give them duties that meet their skills and needs. The hierarchy knows the limits of some turians and they are willing to work with them so that they meet the needs of both sides. The same goes with those who were born with mental disabilities, although those are a bit rarer.

"But Shepard, you have nothing to worry about. The entire galaxy pretty much knows that you were hurt after you ended the war. My Dad's family, especially my uncle's family, is pretty easy-going considering the way our society is. They won't think of you any less than the kind of person you are, I promise."

Shepard nodded. "Okay… I'm sorry. I just wasn't sure what the thoughts were on long term injuries amongst your people…"

"I assume some human cultures think less of them," Garrus guessed.

Shepard sighed. "Mostly in the past, but yes…"

Garrus placed another kiss on her head. "Come on… let's not let this ruin the rest of the day."

Shepard nodded in agreement.

Not long afterwards, Shepard and Garrus made their way towards the kitchen, both craving a small snack. When they got in the kitchen, they could smell the food Solana was preparing for tonight's big dinner. Solana did mention that she planned to go all out on the family dinner. Whatever it was she was making, Shepard realized that the meal was going to take all day to make…

So it was no surprise when they saw Solana mixing something in a bowl on the counter. Xarius was also in there with her helping out with chopping up some dextro vegetables. At one point, he looked over at a dish that sat on the counter in between them and he began to reach a hand towards it.

"Hey, get your hands out of there!" Solana called out as she smacked Xarius' hand away from the dish.

Xarius chuckled. "Sorry, can't help it. You know how much I love _durcia_."

"I know, but I haven't even put it in the oven yet," Solana pointed out. "You don't want to make your first impression on my family while you're sick, do you?"

"Well, no, but…" Xarius then wrapped an arm around Solana's waist. "But with you taking care of me, it wouldn't be so bad."

Solana playfully slapped his arm. "You do that and I'll make you regret it."

Xarius nuzzled the side of her head. "You know you love to take care of me as much as I love to take care of you."

Garrus chose that moment to cut in. "So I hear you're making _durcia_ for dinner tonight."

Xarius immediately pulled away from Solana, who turned her attention to her brother. "Yes I am. It probably won't be as good as Mom's was, but at least it's something I know the whole family likes."

"Well either way, I'm looking forward to it," Garrus replied.

Solana then turned her attention to Shepard. "Oh Shepard… I wasn't sure what to make you for dinner tonight. I haven't had the chance to look over any Earth cookbooks and the last thing I want to do is mix two ingredients that don't even go together. I can also stop by the store this afternoon if needed."

Shepard smiled. "I think I have just the thing, and I promise it'll be very easy and quick to make."

"And painless I imagine," Garrus added.

Shepard lightly elbowed him in the ribs. "Cooking your dinners is no picnic either."

"What's a picnic?" asked Xarius.

"Generally it means eating a light meal outdoors on the grass with a blanket to sit on, but the way I said it just now basically means, 'easy,'" Shepard

Garrus sighed. "You wouldn't believe how many different meanings there are just for one word. _And_ humans also have so many different words for 'butt.'"

"Hey!" called out Solana. "Let's not talk about that while we're surrounded by food."

Shepard chuckled. "I'll go ahead and make you an ingredients list, Solana," she offered before sitting down at the small table in the kitchen.

"Send it to my omni-tool," Solana said.

From there, Shepard began to type out her meal request; spaghetti with a jar of any flavored tomato sauce (rather than try to have Solana attempt to make sauce from real tomatoes, if they even had any on Palaven), grate parmesan cheese (if possible) with a side of rolls or bread (preferably garlic bread, but any bread would do). She then typed out the cooking directions before sending the information to Solana's omni-tool.

"It shouldn't take more than a half hour to make," Shepard explained to Solana as the turian looked over her omni-tool.

"Thanks," Solana replied.

* * *

A few hours later, Shepard and Garrus found themselves at the turian embassies in the heart of Cipritine. The building was one of many that were salvageable after the war. Through there were still some dents and scorch marks on the building, it was definitely going to stay intact. She also noticed that new windows were installed by the way they shined again the Palaven sun.

They barely got inside the lobby when a female turian approached them. "Welcome, Mr. Vakarian, Commander Shepard. If you'll follow me, the Primarch is waiting for you."

They began to head to the officer, though Garrus had to remind the embassy employee to slow her walking down so that Shepard could keep up. The employee was patient and apologized each time. She also asked if Shepard needed any mobile accommodations during her visit, but Shepard immediately declined.

Soon, they were let inside the office, and Primarch Adrien Victus was there at the door to greet them both.

"Garrus, Shepard," he said. "It's good to see you both."

Garrus immediately shook his hand. "Same here. How are you?"

"Things could be better, but it could be worse as well." Victus then turned his attention to Shepard. "How are the legs?"

"Still recovering," Shepard replied as she shook his hand. "Right now, I'm on leave from active duty because of it."

"Yes, Garrus mentioned that," Victus said. "Let's sit down. Lunch will be ready shortly."

They went over to a small lounge area in the office that had two black couches facing each other with a gray coffee table in between them. The back of the couches were carved in a way that would fit the turians' carapaces, so Shepard instead leaned against the arm of the chair so that she was more comfortable. Garrus sat close to her on the same couch while Victus sat down opposite of them.

Victus continued from there. "I must apologize, Commander," he began. "My cook staff don't have any experience with preparing human cuisines, so I hope you don't mind that they prepare an asari dish for you instead."

"Not at all," Shepard assured him with a wave of her hand. "I've have asari food before and I've enjoyed it every time."

Victus nodded. "Good, I'm relieved to hear that."

"So what are we having?" Garrus asked him.

" _Melci vii_."

Shepard noticed Garrus' mandibles flaring into a grin. "I haven't had that in ages."

"What is that exactly?" Shepard asked curiously.

"It's a very popular lunch choice for those high up in the hierarchy. I've only had it twice in my whole life. I want to say that the last time I had it was when Dad had lunch with Fedorian right before I joined the military… he was an Ambassador at the time and it wasn't long before he became Primarch."

"How does it taste?"

"Very sweet and it's very crunchy with each bite even without it being fried." Garrus suddenly cleared his throat. "Just… promise that you won't get squeamish."

That confused Shepard. "Why would I get squeamish?"

That was when the cook staff came into the office with their lunch. All three plates had metal covers over them to keep them warm and protect them from debris while they were delivered to them. The three of them thanked the staff before they left them alone.

"Well, let's eat," Victus suggested.

Shepard removed her cover and took a good look at her dish. It reminded her of lasagna, only the sauce that was used was a hot pink color and the herbs were leafy and a color between green and purple. Whatever the white stuff used in between the 'noodles' did actually looks like ricotta cheese. She also wondered if her tongue was about to turn even more pink from the sauce.

Then Shepard happened to look at Garrus' plate just as he removed his cover. Upon seeing her plate, Shepard's eyes suddenly widened in horror… she now understood why Garrus told her to not get squeamish.

Whatever those snail-like things were on his plate, they were _alive_!

Garrus picked up a pair of metal sticks that reminded Shepard of thick chopsticks (obviously designed to accommodate turian hands) before grasping one 'snail' with them. The 'snail' immediately grasped onto one of the utensils… Shepard also swore it was hanging on for dear life.

"Are you all right, Shepard?" Victus said with some amusement.

Shepard immediately got a hold of herself. "Um, yeah… I'm fine."

"You're face going pale says otherwise," Victus chuckled. "I assume humans don't eat their meals that still move."

"Actually, there are some human cultures that have meals that are still alive when they're served," Shepard explained. "It's… not my preferred method of eating… no offense."

"None taken," Victus replied. "We tend to eat _melci vii_ like this because not only does it maintain its flavor, but it's also very healthy… the turians get the most nutrition out of this meal when they're still alive. Even an hour after they're killed, they lose a lot of their nutritional value."

"They're also hard to find," Garrus added. "They're native to Palaven and mostly live underground. It's why only those high up in the hierarchy can eat them… they're really expensive."

"I assume the price goes up when they're shipped to other colonies."

"Definitely."

From there, Victus decided to begin discussing a few things he had in mind. "Aside from rebuilding and reorganizing the hierarchy, I have been negotiating with diplomats from other species."

"What about?" Garrus said. That was when he took his first bite of his meal, a loud _crunch!_ being heard once he started chewing.

Victus took a bite of his own meal before proceeding. "Well, galactic politics were always primarily on the Citadel, at least before the war. Now, with so many species living in many different parts of the galaxy, many of the diplomats agreed that developing additional embassies where it's most needed would help many civilians on other worlds. Not everyone can go directly to embassies from where live, so the closer these embassies are, the better."

Garrus' browplates rose at that. "You're not planning to make me ambassador or anything, are you?"

Victus chuckled at that. "I haven't even started figuring out potential nominees yet. We're still in negotiations, but either way, it'll still take some time to get everything set up."

As they proceeded to talk, Shepard continued to hear the crunching noise from their meals. By the time they were done, Shepard had lost her appetite and had only finished half of her plate.

Soon, Garrus and Shepard said farewell to Victus and went on their way. Once they were outside, Garrus laughed. "So, I noticed you didn't finish your meal."

"I hope I didn't offend him," Shepard sighed.

"Don't worry, I told him you weren't a big eater a while ago… at least he was amused when you saw our plates."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

Shepard then thought of something as they got in the sky car. "Say… didn't one of your cousins have kids who are coming over?"

Garrus nodded. "Yeah. Caius has two kids."

"How old are they?"

Garrus had to briefly think about that. "Let's see… Zorana is six, and Calix should've just turned five."

This gave Shepard an idea. "Do you mind if we go to the shopping district? I promise it won't take more than an hour."

Garrus stared at her. "What for?"

Shepard smiled. "I just had a little idea, but clearly I'm going to need your help."

Garrus shrugged. "All right, let's go."

* * *

As the sun outside was starting to set for the evening, Shepard suddenly jumped in her seat the moment she heard a knock on the door. She looked around the living room she was sitting in. Garrus gave her a reassuring smile, but Xarius gave her the same nervous look she was giving now.

"I'll get it," Castis announced as he made his way to the front door.

"Right on time!" Solana called out as she came into the living room. "I just got the table set and dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. I have your dinner cooking right now, Shepard."

Shepard nodded. "Thanks."

Garrus looked at both her and Xarius. "You two ready?"

"No," they both said at the same time.

Solana chuckled. "Well, it's too late to back out now."

"Not necessarily," said Xarius. "Shepard and I can still slip through the back door and escape to the nearest bar."

Shepard laughed. "I think I'll take you up on that offer if this whole meeting goes to hell."

"Relax you two," Garrus cut in.

That was when Castis opened the front door.

"Brother, it's good to see you," said a male turian Shepard realized was Gallus. The two brothers grasped each other's shoulders in greeting.

"You don't look worse for wear," Castis replied.

Gallus chuckled. "Neither do you."

Castis then turned to the woman next to him. "Hello, Aricia."

"Hello Castis," Gallus' wife greeted. "It's so good to see you."

As they talked, Gallus began to approach his nephew and niece. "Garrus, Solana, how are you?"

"We're good," said Solana as she hugged her uncle. "We've been trying to get back to our normal routine these past few months."

"Yeah, we're doing the same back at home." He then turned to Garrus. "And how have-" He suddenly stopped as he noticed Garrus' right side of his face. "Spirits boy, what happened to you?"

Garrus rubbed his scarred mandible. "Rocket to the face."

Gallus laughed. "You always did get yourself into all sorts of trouble." That's when he shifted his eyes. "And this must be Shepard."

Shepard extended her arm to shake hands with Castis' brother. "I am. It's nice to meet you. Garrus told me a lot about you."

Gallus grinned. "I'm sure he did. I'm sure we'll have a lot of talk about this evening."

He moved on to meet with Xarius. By then, Gallus' wife and Garrus' Aunt Aricia had approached them both. She smiled warmly at her nephew. "It's good to see you, Garrus. And I'm happy to be able to finally meet the Commander." She reached her hand out and Shepard took it. "It's an honor."

Shepard nodded. "Thank you. And it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Vakarian."

"Oh please, call me Aricia. Formality is not necessary around me."

Shepard smiled. "In that case, call me Shepard."

By then, a male turian around Garrus' age approached. If it wasn't for his green eyes and lack of scars, Shepard could've easily mistaken him for Garrus.

"Garrus!" he called out enthusiastically as he grasped his shoulder. "It's good to see you, again. Looks like your scars are getting better."

"Thanks," Garrus replied. "How's the rebuilding?"

"Not bad. Planning everything is the worst part, but once it's all set, it makes the job easier."

The turian then turned his attention to Shepard. "And this must be Commander Shepard. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Shepard, this is my cousin and best friend growing up, Arek. He's an architect and has been helping out with getting new buildings up in Cipritine."

Shepard smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Arek."

"Has my cousin here taken you down to see the Danorian Spires yet?" Arek asked her.

"We've only been here for a day," Garrus replied. "And to be honest, I don't know if we'll make the trip this time. Besides, are you sure they're still there after all this time?"

"They are," Arek informed him with a nod. "One of my colleagues made a trip out there not too long ago and even took pictures. I think the fact that there wasn't a big population there might've saved them.

Arek then turned his head to where Castis was talking to a couple not much older than him with their two children nearby. Seeing this, Arek turned back to Garrus, his voice going into a whisper. "Oh, there's something… somewhat important you should know."

"About what?" Garrus asked.

"Well… Caius is looking forward to meeting you, but… Drenya has been a bit… reserved about it."

"How so?"

"Well, she hasn't really shown much enthusiasm about coming here like the rest of us… plus you have to remember, her father died in the Relay 314 Incident."

"Oh boy…" Shepard whined nervously.

Arek patted her on the shoulder. "I don't think she'll cost any fuss, but please don't take any offense if she seems a little cold towards you."

Shepard sighed. "Noted."

"Oh, and whatever you do, unless Mom and Dad bring it up, don't mention Cyllis," Arek advised. "I know they seem happy right now, but… his death is still hurting them pretty bad. I think they both want tonight to be a good night."

Garrus nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, we'll stay quiet."

Arek then noticed Caius and his family beginning to approach. "Well, I guess that's my cue to step aside. I hope you stocked up well on some of that Denorian beer."

Garrus laughed. "Always."

Once Arek stepped away, Garrus greeted his other cousin and his wife. "How are you two?"

"We're good," Caius replied. "Things are hectic, of course, but it's been good."

Garrus nodded before turning to his mate. "This is Shepard. Shepard, this is my cousin, Caius, his wife Drenya, and behind them are their kids Zorana and Calix."

Shepard smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Caius replied while Drenya simply nodded with a neutral look on her face. Caius then turned to his children. "Kids, come here and meet your cousin Garrus and Shepard."

The two kids, both with the same blue eyes as Garrus, slowly looked up at the scarred turian more with curiosity than anything, but they were also a bit shy to speak up.

"Hi guys," Garrus greeted once they finished walking.

"Hi," they replied at the same time.

"Shepard got you two a gift. Do you want to see it?"

Now their eyes turned to Shepard. Shepard took the bag she was holding in one hand and briefly rummaged through it to take out the two items she got for each child. Both items were of Blasto with Zorana getting a doll version and Calix getting an action figure version. Garrus had told her that they were both big fans of Blasto.

Shepard was pleased when she saw the happy look on the kids' faces. Caius gently nudged his children's shoulder. "What do you say?"

"Thank you!" called out Zorana.

"Thanks," said Calix.

"You're welcome," Shepard replied. "Now if you go see cousin Solana, I think her mate, Xarius, has gifts for you, too."

Naturally, the two kids took off like bullets before Shepard could finish her sentence. Caius took a deep breath. "You're spoiling my kids, but I appreciate the gesture."

"It was Shepard's idea," Garrus pointed out.

"Is it customary for adult humans to give gifts to children when they first meet them?" Drenya asked quietly.

Shepard took a deep breath. "It actually isn't, but some of us like to do it because it helps kids be more comfortable around strangers."

"I see," Drenya said. "If you'll excuse, we'll go see to Solana."

Garrus nodded as the two of them leave. Once they were out of earshot, he turned to Shepard. "Like Arek said, take no offense."

"I'm trying not to," Shepard replied. "But I'm curious about two things… one, you didn't tell me much about Drenya."

"Honestly, I don't know her all that well," Garrus said. "Heck, I didn't know that her father died in the Relay 314 Incident until just now. She's usually more reserved, but she's not so bad once you get to know her. If I remember from Arek's account, Caius _really_ had work on winning her heart. They met at the same boot camp during their military training and served on the same ship afterwards. I think it was what you humans call it… love at first sight."

"I see."

Garrus nodded. "And the second thing?"

"Arek knew about your scars, but not Gallus."

"I haven't seen Uncle Gallus since before I met you," Garrus explained. "He couldn't make it to Mom's funeral, but Cyllis, Caius, and Arek were able to go."

Shepard smirked. "That's explains it."

Garrus grinned. "Arek didn't believe the rocket story at first when I told him. Then he wanted me to tell the whole story, but… there are just some things that are meant to be a secret."

Shepard nodded. "I agree."

Soon, dinner was ready and everyone was gathered at the table. Castis and Gallus each took one end of the table. On Castis' left, Garrus sat in the first chair with Shepard right next to him. Next to Shepard were Arek, then Zorana, then Caius. On Castis' right was Solana, then Xarius. Next to Xarius were Drenya, then Calix, and then Aricia.

Shepard noticed how colorful the meat and vegetables were on the table. They definitely looked more interesting than the spaghetti in front of her. Solana wasn't able to find the grated parmesan cheese, but Shepard assured her it was fine. She was sure that levo cheese would not be easy to find on Palaven anyway. At least she was able to find a box of frozen garlic bread to heat in the oven.

"So apparently the higher-ups in the building committee want to build the tallest building on Palaven right in the heart of Cipritine," Shepard heard Arek explain to Xarius, who inquired about potential new towers to be built in the nearby city. "But there are concerns about the resources being used for it. It's something we wouldn't mind doing in the future, but a lot of our main concern right now is using the materials we have to salvage the buildings that did survive. It's already hard enough that many of the buildings were lost in the war."  Arek suddenly turned to Garrus. "You know the Primarch. Maybe you can convince him to try to stall the project for a little while."

Garrus chuckled. "Too bad you didn't ask me that this morning. Shepard and I met with him earlier this afternoon."

That caught Aricia's interest. "Oh? What about?"

"He has been meeting up with other diplomats from all different species. They've been in talks about possible creating new embassies for some of the home worlds and colonies. Everyone's more spread out than ever after the war ended."

"I heard something like that," said Gallus.

That was when Drenya spoke up. "It's… interesting how the galaxy has turned out since the end of the war."

Solana turned to her. "How so?"

Drenya took a moment to take a sip of her wine before proceeding. "All my life, I've been convinced that other species always looked out only for themselves. Before the war, we relied on ourselves to make improvements for our own, never really considering anyone else. But…"

She then turned her head to look at Shepard. "You proved that all species are much stronger when we all work together and not just for ourselves. I… heard about the species that united during the war. As a matter of fact, the krogan had helped me, Caius, and our children evacuate onto a shuttle so that we could survive."

Putting her wine glass down, Drenya's fingers fidgeted a little. "I admit… I had… reservations on humans after my father died in the Relay 314 incident, and… I guess my mother's prejudice didn't help either. Shepard… you showed me through your actions that individuals should not be defined by their species. If you hadn't rallied the galaxy to stand together, especially the krogan…"

Shepard heard Drenya's voice waver for a moment, but the turian quickly cleared her throat before continuing. "If you hadn't rallied the galaxy to stand together, especially the krogan, who knows what would've happened to us."  Drenya managed to give her a turian smile. "You've probably heard this so many times, but… thank you."

Shepard nodded in reply, unsure of what to say. Honestly, she had not expected Drenya to speak up like that. As a matter of fact, she didn't think Drenya would really acknowledge her all that much throughout the evening. She guessed that Drenya was conflicted for a while and eventually came to this conclusion in her own mind.

Drenya then sighed as she clutched on to her wine glass. "I… just wish Cyllis and his family were here with us."

Shepard noticed Aricia bowing her head, her mandibles flaring into a sad frown. Next to her, her husband reached over and grasped for her hand tightly. Shepard frowned at the sight. Arek had told her minutes ago that the family was still mourning, but to actually see it was heartbreaking to say the least.

"He was… what you would call a model turian," Caius pointed out as he looked over at Shepard. "Duty always came first in every aspect of his life. Had he had the chance to even fight in this war, he would have done so proudly."

Shepard nodded as an idea came to her. "There's a small dinner tradition we humans have to honor those no longer with us." She then took her own wine glass and lifted it up. "We call it a toast. We all raise our cups like this and simply say something like, 'To Cyllis and his family.'"

Most at the table seemed to consider this for a moment. Gallus was the first to make a move and he took his own glass in hand before raise it. "It's simple, but… I think this is a nice way to honor them tonight."

Everyone, even the two children, raised their glasses. "To Cyllis, Delphia, and Cassius," Gallus said quietly. "May they rest well with the spirits."

Shepard drank from her glass and everyone followed suit before quietly placing them down on the table. Shepard then decides to lighten the mood a little. "It wasn't just me who helped unite the galaxy. Everyone contributed in their own way. I couldn't have done it without them."

"I imagine Garrus was a big help," Arek said with a grin.

"Yes he was," Shepard replied as she stared at him.

Garrus had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going, so he immediately turned to Solana's mate. "So Xarius, tell the rest of the family how you met my sister."

Shepard almost laughed at the look Xarius gave him. She could almost read his face; ' _Thanks for putting me in the spotlight._ ' She noticed everyone turning to Xarius, though she heard Arek somewhat chuckle before he did the same. He knew Garrus was turning the attention away from Shepard, but apparently, he decided to comply for now… she was sure that Arek was going to bring them up again later.

Clearing his throat, Xarius leaned back into his seat. "Well… it all started when my ship was deployed to Palaven…"


	15. Phaedria

_A time long ago…_

_A young turian boy admired the seashells along the shore of a small cove. The sun was high up in the sky and it was hot as always, but the sea just in front of him made his surroundings much cooler. At one point, he spotted a blue, circle-shaped shell that seemed to swirl within itself. It also had a purple gleam to it that was more noticeable underneath the sun's rays._

" _Don't get too close to the water!" a woman's voice called out as a small wave lapped at the boy's feet._

_The boy knew to listen to his mother, plus he didn't want to get into trouble today. Picking up the shell he just found, he began to run towards where his mother sat, wanting to show her what he just found._

" _What do you have there?" she asked with genuine interest once he reached her._

_The boy opened the palm of his hand, showing her the shell. Her mandibles flared into a smile. "That is beautiful," she said._

_She then gathered her son into his arms and pulled him into a hug. The boy dropped the shell, almost forgetting about it as he threw his arms around his mother's neck._

_Her voice whispered into his ear. "Don't be sad, my son. It will be all right."_

* * *

Garrus woke up with a start as the images of his dream began to fade from his mind. He took a moment to blink a few times so that his eyes could adjust to the darkness of the bedroom that was once his as a child. He then took a deep breath before rubbing a hand over his face.

Through the curtains, the light from Palaven's two moons shone through, so it was easy for Garrus to see Shepard sleeping soundly on his left side. Her face was relaxed, and he guessed that she hadn't had any nightmares at this point. Then again, they've been on Palaven for a week now, and the trip had proven to be a good one. Aside with meeting the Vakarian side of his family and with Victus, Garrus had taken her around to show her the places he used to haunt when he was younger. They also did some shopping, which gave Garrus the opportunity to stock up on new civilian clothes and non-perishable dextro supplies. He was not looking forward to lugging the supplies back to Earth, but at least he wouldn't have to pay for shipping.

Garrus had wanted the trip to be a happy one more for Shepard's sake since this was her first trip outside of Earth since the end of the war. Sure, there were a few glares from strangers on the streets when they went out, but stares never bothered Shepard… as a matter of fact, she was downright used to it for years now, but luckily, that was the worst of it.

Only now did Garrus realize that trying to make this trip a happy one meant that he was trying not to think about the fact that his mother was no longer here. He and the rest of the family had mentioned her in passing, and there was no ignoring the small shrine in the family room. Garrus was a bit surprised that Shepard hadn't brought her up during the trip, but he realized that perhaps she didn't want to push it.

After the dream tonight, his mother remained at the forefront of his mind.

Knowing that he wasn't going to fall asleep right away, Garrus slowly got out of bed, trying to be as quiet as possible so that he didn't wake up Shepard. He then took a moment to put on a comfortable shirt before stepping out of the bedroom and went down the hall. When he entered the family room, Garrus reached for a button on the wall, pressing it gently enough to slowly begin turning the lights on. The lights were on just enough for Garrus to see, but not enough for the brightness to be harsh to his sleepy eyes.

There, on a small table amongst trinkets and unlit candles was the picture containing the contented face of Phaedria Vakarian.

Garrus went to the shrine and found himself admiring the trinkets on the table. They were simple little statues… some were miniature replicas of famous works from years past and some were just simple jewels that she used to love to wear. Garrus also realized that there were some trinkets that he remembered from childhood that were not part of the shrine… he didn't want to think about what became of those treasures after the war.

He thought about lighting the candles, but then he decided against it. He had noticed during his stay here that his father or Solana would light the candles first thing in the morning, and then put them out before they went to bed. The only other time the candles would not be lit was when no one was in the house.

As Garrus continued to look at the shrine, a memory from what seemed like a lifetime ago came to him…

_Garrus entered the hospital room and immediately saw his mother on the bed. She had a cast on her right arm along with one on her left leg and a large bandage on her head that covered her right eye. Phaedria was awake and had turned to her son upon hearing his footsteps. Relief washed over him._

" _Mom!" he called out as he ran to her bed side. Upon reaching her, he threw his arms around her and she returned it gently by placing her good hand on the back of his carapace._ " _What happened?" he asked with worry in his subharmonics_

_Phaedria took a deep breath. "It was a hit and run, they said. I don't remember. Don't worry about me – I'll be fine."_

_She realized something suddenly as she noticed the backpack strapped to her son's back. As he pulled back, she tenderly placed a hand on one side of his face. "What are you doing here? Your study abroad shuttle should've left_ hours _ago."_

_Garrus' mandibles twitched at that. "I… I didn't go. I heard you were here and I left port."_ _He shook his head as he looked down at the ground. "It doesn't matter. It was just a dumb trip anyway, I… I can take care of you now. We both know Dad won't leave work to be here."_

_Phaedria pulled her hand away as she gave him a stern look. "Now, that's not fair. He called here the moment he heard, and he's worried sick. In the time it would take for him to travel all the way back here from the Citadel, these old bones would be healed. I told him to stay put."_

_Her stern look relaxed and her mandibles twitched into a frown. "But Garrus… your scholarship was for this summer only. If you don't go, you lose it. You won't qualify again. This was your_ dream _. I won't let you waste it. You get back there and-"_

_Garrus had turned around to face the hospital room window as she spoke, not wanting his mother to see the sad look that now etched on his face. He ended up interrupting her. "It's too late, they're gone… and if I left you here, like this, I wouldn't deserve it. I wouldn't forgive myself…"_

_He then sighed as though resigned to his fate. "Dad was right. He always said he'd support me in whatever I wanted to do… but he meant as long as it's what he wanted me to do. It's time I faced facts. I'm an officer's son… that's all I'll ever be..."_

_He never saw his mother's heartbroken gaze…_

"Garrus?" a voice said from behind him, almost startling him.

For a split moment, he thought the voice belonged to his mother… He turned around and was met with the face of his sister. She was dressed in her sleepwear, which was mostly covered by the blue turian robe wrapped around her small frame.

"Hey," he croaked. "What are you doing up?"

Solana managed to smile. "Xarius is a sweet man, but his snoring can keep me up sometimes."

Garrus lightly chuckled. "Yeah… Shepard has a habit of tossing and turning quite a bit even before she was injured."

Solana nodded as she moved to stand next to him. "Yeah."

The siblings fell silent for a little bit afterwards, both finding themselves looking down at the shrine.

"Dad still grieves for her, you know," Solana pointed out. Garrus stared at his sister. He wasn't sure what to say at this point, but he let her continue. "He tries every day to keep himself occupied with his work… but some nights, when I get up for a light snack, I catch him just… standing here. Sometimes, he'll pray, sometimes, he'll just talk to her, and sometimes… he just stands here, most likely thinking about old memories."

Hearing this added a sad, heavy weight into Garrus' heart. A few years ago, he would've never imagined his father showing any kind of grief… he almost never showed his emotions to his children, his demeanor usually stoic. Now, after everything that's happened for the past couple of years, Garrus found himself picturing his father standing in this very spot thinking of days long past…

In the back of his mind, Garrus wondered if this was what _he_ would be doing had Shepard not survived the war…

Solana began to adjust a few of the trinkets to make the display look nicer. "I think… he never really had the chance to grieve until we got back to Palaven after the war. Sometimes, I feel… guilty."

Hearing her admit that made Garrus turn his head to her. "Why?"

"Xarius," Solana said. "Dad was more than happy to let him live here when we came back, but sometimes, I can't help but wonder what he's thinking every time he sees us together. _But_ … he's always trying to assure me that he's happy for me and…" She turned to look up at her brother. "He's happy for you and Shepard, too. I think… I think a part of him wishes that Mom was here to see how far we've both come."

Garrus turned his head to look at the picture on the table. "Something tells me that she does know…"

Solana nodded in agreement. "Me too…"

* * *

Later that morning, Garrus and Shepard were the only ones at the Vakarian home with Garrus' father at work and Solana and Xarius out meeting with a childhood friend of Solana's. The both of them settled for fruits for breakfast. Shepard had found a frozen bag of strawberries a few days ago and was now enjoying that, savoring the sweet, cool taste. Garrus was eating what he called _marrias_ , which reminded Shepard of apples. Garrus did mention that he accidentally had apples once because he thought they were _marrias_ , but he realized that he can eat apples without getting sick. The _marrias_ was more oval than a regular apple and this particular one was pink.

For the heck of it, Shepard tried a bit of the _marrias_ while Garrus tried the frozen strawberry. She actually liked how much sweeter it was compared to apples. She then laughed as Garrus slightly gagged after he bit into the strawberry… apparently he wasn't agreeing with the taste of it.

"Fresh strawberries as much better, I promise," Shepard

Garrus coughed a little. "That doesn't comfort me right now."

"Well either way, some of us humans usually have strawberry festivals in the summer. Maybe if you end up liking fresh strawberries, we can go to one maybe next year."

Garrus tilted his head at her. "You humans have festivals over food?"

Shepard chuckled. "Yeah, there are a lot of humans that are enthusiastic about food. Strawberries are the most well-known. We also have wine tasting."

Garrus chuckled. "If there were any dual-chirality or dextro wine, that's something I would attend."

Shepared laughed. "Of course you would. Oh! And we also have pumpkin picking. Is this big orange vegetable that's grown every fall season. You go to this patch and pick out a pumpkin you like. You use the insides to make pie, but you can decorate the outside anyway you like. Most put faces on them."

"What's the point of that?"

"It's for a human holiday called Halloween. Generally, it's around the time when it was believed that the void between the living and the dead is thin, thus the spirits are able to cross into the living void for a short period of time. It ended up being a time when everyone celebrates everything that's considered scary and most dress up in different costumes and have parties. Kids dress up and go around a neighborhood to get as much candy as possible."

Garrus shook his head. "You humans celebrate the strangest things."

Shepard laughed. "That we do."

By then, they finished their respective breakfast. "So," Shepard proceeded. "I'm pretty sure that neither one of us is going to get stomach cramps from sharing each other's breakfast this morning. Is there any place you want to go to today or do you want to just stay in?"

The moment Shepard finished that last sentence, Garrus knew exactly what he wanted to do today. "Yeah… if you don't mind, there are a couple of places I want to visit…"

* * *

The field was one of the few places in and around Cipritine that was untouched by the Reapers… but perhaps the sentient beings didn't care for those that were long deceased…

Garrus hadn't told Shepard where they were going until they pulled out of the driveway in the skycar they were renting. Shepard admitted that she had expected to being going here during their trip, but she didn't think it would happen until at least the last couple of days of their stay here.

The cemetery wasn't all that different from a human one. It was filled with tall stones all etched in turian writing. There were also a few family mausoleums scattered around, many requiring keys to get inside.

Garrus had his own key to get into the Vakarian mausoleum. It was more towards the middle of the cemetery, and by the looks of it, Shepard had to guess that it was quite a while since it was made.

"My great-grandfather had this built long before I was born," Garrus explained as he began to unlock the door. He then took Shepard's hand and helped her up the three steps into the single room, remembering how slippery the waxed floor can be.

The floor and walls were all in what reminded Shepard of marble in a white color. A large, Vakarian blue stained glass window was placed opposite of the door, letting some light from the sun in. Garrus took a moment to light some candles on the table below the window so that it was even lighter inside.

Looking around, Shepard noticed the vaults that, of course, would hold the remains. Only a handful of those vaults had gold inscriptions, indicating to Shepard that someone occupied them.

Garrus soon rejoined her by her side and pointed at two vaults that were at eye level. "These are my paternal grandparents, Cassius and Evia. Grandfather died long before I was born and… Evia died when I was young." He then pointed to the vaults above his grandparents; the ones belong to his grandfather's parents, Garrus' great-grandparents.

There were a few that belonged to some of his great aunts and uncles. He then pointed to one that had three names… his cousin Cyllis, his wife Delphia, and their young son, also named Cassius. Although their bodies were never found after the war, the family had placed mementos and a few personal belongings in the vault as a way to put the family to rest.

Finally, Garrus fell quiet as he looked at the vault on the opposite side, the one occupied by his mother. Quietly, he took one of the lit candles and brought it closer to that side of the room.

"The candles are supposed to show that someone visited," Garrus replied. "We usually only leave mementos when we know they'll be buried with them or left in the vault."

Shepard nodded. "Some cultures do the same thing. At least one country I know of light incense when they visit a grave and another leaves small pebbles as a sign that someone visited. Some believe that leaving coins helps the spirits get passage to the afterlife."

Garrus took a deep breath as he wrapped an arm around Shepard, who returned the gesture. They stood like this for a while, neither of them saying anything as they both found themselves lost in their thoughts.

"What are you thinking?" Shepard finally asked him after a few minutes.

Garrus cleared his throat. "Do you remember when I told you how I almost became a spectre?"

Shepard looked up at him. "Yeah, I remember."

His hold on Shepard tightened a little. "Well, I actually received a scholarship when I was qualified for training amongst the other candidates. The higher-ups at my boot camp were the ones who got me the scholarship. They saw my potential and pulled a lot of strings to make sure I made it for their summer program, but… I had to drop out."

Shepard frowned. "Why did you drop out?"

Garrus sighed. "That day, Mom had dropped me off at the shuttle port. On her way home, she… she had been in a hit-and-run accident. She was fine, but she had broken a few bones and hit her head. She didn't remember much. I ended up hearing about it on the vids at the shuttle port. I knew it was her because I recognized her car in the vid they showed. And… without even thinking about it, I ran and took a taxi to the hospital they mentioned on the news.

"I remember just… thinking how whoever hit her would just… leave her like that, hurt and needing help. They never caught the person who hit her car. I don't know why, but that day, it made me realize that I was better off following my father's footsteps rather than follow my dream to be a spectre."  Garrus took a deep breath. "Besides… Dad wasn't home a lot at that point, and I would've never forgiven myself if I had left her in that state."

He felt Shepard's hand on his face. "I know that you felt that you had a duty, but… you should've gone on that shuttle. I know from past conversations that it was something you've wanted to do."

"I… I know… but by the time I even got to the hospital, the shuttle had already left... it was too late. Mom stood by my decision, but… I knew that she was disappointed that I never went."

Shepard leaned her head into his shoulder. "Would you want to try reapplying again?"

Garrus leaned his own head on top of Shepard's head. "I've seen what being a spectre has done to you. I don't think I could handle it like I thought I would these days."

Shepard gave him a knowing look. "I won't stop you if you want to go for it again."

Garrus shook his head. "I've already reapplied once and look what happened. I know it's been a while, but I'm still not over the fact that the council denied your claims of the Reapers' existence. I don't think I'd be able to stand it knowing that fact. My faith in them shattered that day…"

He turned his head to look at the vault they stood in front of. "Mom always encouraged me to follow that dream, but… well… after everything that's happened, I… I think it's for the best."

As he said that, Shepard could hear the small waver in his voice, his blue eyes gazing at the vault in front of them. It was clear to her that Garrus was still mourning his mother, knowing that he hadn't had the chance to truly do so before the Reapers rolled in.

"One of my favorite things to do with her was go to this cove not far from here," Garrus continue, his voice more steady. "She would take me there every summer on the nicest days. She would just sit there and soak up the sun while I ran around exploring. Sometimes I picked up a few shells and showed them to her. Sometimes, I'll just run just at the edge of the water and let my feet get wet. She always warned me to never go too far, and I never did. Sometimes, we'll be there all day until I was hungry enough for dinner. We usually went straight home, but if Solana was with us and Dad wasn't home, we'd go to this little restaurant nearby and eat these little shellfish like you would eat popcorn…. And if we were really good, she would let us have a cold dessert."

Shepard tightened her own hold on him. "She sounded like a wonderful mother."

Garrus gazed down at the floor. "Yeah… the one good thing about her dying was that she never had to witness the war…" He then turned to look at his love. "I wish you could've met her. She would've really liked you."

Shepard managed to smile. "I think I would've liked her too."

* * *

After leaving the cemetery, Shepard and Garrus picked up lunch to go before setting out. It was another part of Garrus' plan for the day… taking Shepard to the secret beach cove his mother used to take him to as a child. The sands were almost a white color and the water was a perfect blue. It was the kind of beach Shepard remembered seeing from resort photos.

There were quite a few trees around the cove, so they picked a spot that had the most shade. Before eating her lunch, Shepard took a moment to put on an extra layer of the radiation block after they both put on their respective swimsuits. Despite that, she was pretty sure that she was going to get some sunburn once they leave.

"We'll head back to the house after this," Garrus suggested. "Since I doubt Dad, Solana, and Xarius will be home by the time we return, maybe we can order in."

"I wouldn't mind," Shepard replied. "Just don't order any levo fish. They definitely will not be fresh unless they have a market like the one back on Earth where they're still alive."

"What if I got you those frozen ones, what are they called… stick fish?"

"Close, fish sticks," Shepard corrected. "And they were pretty gross the last time I had them."

"All right, all right," Garrus said.

Shepard then gazed at their surroundings. "So… how did your mom find this place?"

"Actually, it was my maternal grandmother who found this place a long time ago. She used to take my mom and her brother and sister here. I don't think a lot of people know about this place because of the trees and it was a bit out of the way. She would try to come back as much as possible whenever they were in the area."

Shepard happened to turn her head and noticed the wild plants growing nearby, primarily a purple flower with a bright green stem. "These are nice," she said.

Garrus happened to reach out for one and picked it from the ground. "Remember those laelia flowers I mentioned? These are them. It was another reason why my mother loved this place… these were her favorite. She, uh, didn't have the time to grow her own ones at home, but she would always pick a handful every time we came here. She would put them in a vase and care of them until they wilted. One time, she took a bunch of them and made this little crown for Solana. She wore it almost every day for about a week."

As he talked, Garrus carefully placed the stem of the flower into Shepard's hair, remembering how he saw this in a human vid once. He knew that Shepard wasn't exactly a girly girl, but she seemed to love the gesture as her eyes brightened and her lips curled into a small smile.

He saw her love for him in those bright eyes and it tugged at his heartstrings. At the same time, it made his heart ache knowing that his mother will never be able to meeting this amazing woman he fell in love with. His Mom had always hoped that he could at least meet a nice woman and simply be happy. That was one hope of hers that he managed to get right…

Thinking of his mother, Garrus' felt his throat close up. His brow plates furrowing, he closed his eyes tightly as he tilted his head down. "I miss her, Shepard…" he managed to say.

He felt a pair of hands gently touching either side of his head. "I know, love. I know… but don't ever forget, she'll always be with you in spirit."

Taking a deep breath, Garrus managed to open his eyes to look at her, the tightness in his throat leaving him. "I know."

For a long time, the two of them sat in contented silence, mainly admiring the scenery. At one point, they both lied back and simply held each other, enjoying one another's presence.

Eventually, Garrus realized that Shepard had fallen asleep judging by the light snoring. Garrus personally found it amusing, but also a bit endearing. Either way, she had moved quite a bit today more than usual these past few days. She deserved to rest… she'll always deserve to rest.

Brushing a strand a hair away from her face, Garrus took a moment to leave a gentle kiss on the side of her head before slowly getting himself up onto his feet. Briefly, he looked around to make sure that the shade from the tree still covered her properly. He then decided to get closer to the water and began walking towards it.

As he reached the waves, something caught Garrus' eyes and he looked down. There amongst the sand was an oval-shaped blue seashell, the one that swirled into itself and had a purple gleam underneath the sun. He remembered how much he loved picking up those shells as a child because this particular one was his favorite, especially with the colors and the swirls. Reaching down, he grasped the shell into the palm of his hand before straightening himself up. He gazed at it a little longer before placing the shell in the pocket of his shorts. He planned to collect more and take them back to Earth with him.

Garrus then turned his attention to the sea, feeling the cool waves lapping over his feet just as it had when he was little. Now an adult, he could understand his mother's concerns about going into the water… turians weren't exactly the most buoyant species in the galaxy with their carapaces, and with how small turian children were when they were young, it would have been very easy for them to be swept away by the sea.

Naturally, Garrus was always curious about going into the water, but he always listened when his mother told him not to go in. Today, he decided to give in to his curiosity and stepped further into the water.

He almost laughed when he suddenly imagined his mother's disappointing glare over him disobeying her. It actually made him stop walking, the water now just ending below his knees.

Folding his arms in front of his chest, Garrus gazed out at the sea in front of him, the water cooling his legs. His mind drifted to those younger days again, him exploring the cove looking for little treasures. He wasn't able to take everything back of course, like the little shelled sea creature with ten legs he saw crawling around and he had wanted to take it home as a pet. Of course, his mom explained how he couldn't because the creature lived here and might have a family nearby who would miss them if they went away. Of course, that was enough to convince him to let the creature go.

Sadness etched onto his face as he thought of those memories. He could only imagine the regret he would face had he not been there when she died. It was already enough that he regretted not being there enough even when he was helping to save the galaxy… and perhaps, he regretted making her feel disappointed when he decided not to pursue his dream to become a spectre.

Garrus suddenly heard her voice in his mind. "Don't be sad, my son. It will be all right."

He sighed at this. They were words that he was pretty damn sure that he'll never forget for as long as he lived. In one of her last awareness just days before Corpalis Syndrome took his mother's life, Phaedria uttered these words to Garrus… they ended up being the last thing she said to him.

At the time, Garrus knew that her death was near. At the same time, he was missing Shepard terribly after she was incarcerated on Earth, waiting for her trial after what happened in Batarian space. He imagined that Phaedria had seen the sadness in his eyes… she was always good at seeing those kinds of things.

Thinking of those words, Garrus now believed once more that 'it will be all right.' After everything that's happened these past few years, and even though there were still going to be rough patches along the way, Garrus could truly believe his mother's final words to him.


	16. Community

Two days after coming home from Palaven, Garrus and Shepard's next door neighbors, Meela and Trey'Ganba, came over for a visit. They had watched over their house, as well as their pets, while they were gone for two weeks. Garrus and Shepard invited them inside, thinking at first that they were going to update them on how their house sitting went.

They barely sat down on the couches when Trey let out a cough, which was quickly followed by a sneeze. Shepard frowned. "Are you all right?" she asked.

There was a small sniffle coming from the quarian before he answered. "I'll be fine. The one good thing about being in a suit is that I won't get anyone else sick. I've been trying to slowly adapt to the Earth's environment, though it'll definitely be a long process. Right now, I'm just trying to walk around my own home without a suit on."

Meela reached for his hand and grasped it gently. "I've suggested going to Rannoch for a while so that he can better adapt without his suit."

"But then I would have to start the process over again," Trey explained. "The first time I did this, I was bedridden for a week. The second process was better, though I was practically blinded by all the tears in my eyes. This is the third process and the cold I have now is better compared to the last couple of times I got sick."

"I imagine," said Garrus. "Or else you wouldn't be over our house."

"I told him to stay home," mentioned Meela. "But he insisted on coming here."

"I wish I can offer you something hot to drink," said Shepard. "But we don't have the necessary equipment to sterilize it."

Trey waved a hand. "It's not necessary, but I appreciate the thought."

"What brings you two over here today?" asked Garrus.

The asari and the quarian briefly gazed at each other before Meela chose to speak first. "Well… we wanted to talk to you as soon as you came home, but we figured that we'd give you a couple of days to settle back in."

Shepard smiled. "We appreciate it. It definitely was a long trip."

Meela nodded. "Well… things at the nearby refugee camps have become… hostile as of lately. People have been fighting for shelter, crumbs of food, just… simple basic needs. As you both know, everyone is doing everything we can to help them, but there are just so many…

"Anyway… just a few days ago, two humans at the refugee camp near New York City got into a fight over water supplies. One of the humans ended up killing the other and caused a lot of chaos on that camp. Some were arrested in the brawl."

Trey continued for her. "Because of what happened, this town has officially decided to finally move forward with that housing project everyone was debating over."

"About time," said Garrus. "I never understood why there had to be a debate to begin with. It should've been done a long time ago."

Meela sighed. "And that's why I hate politics." Trey simply nodded in agreement.

Shepard had to shake her head. "It hate that people have to die to convince others that certain things need to move forward." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Is the levo market owner still planning all of this?"

Meela nodded. "Yes, Alan Holden is still planning all of this. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons we came to you is to let you know that there's going to be a meeting tomorrow at the town hall around two in the afternoon."

After that sentence, Shepard noticed the tension in Meela's shoulders and she knew that the asari had more to say. "Anything else?" she pressed.

Trey twisted his fingers a little. "Well… there's this rumor that, um… Alan might want to make you project leader."

Shepard furrowed her eyebrows. "Me?"

"I think it's mainly to oversee the building operations," Meela guessed. "Planning the houses, ordering building supplies, basically making sure everything runs smoothly."

Garrus chuckled a little. "That doesn't sound all that different from being a commander of a war ship."

"Ha!" Shepard laughed. "Unless people start running around cutting everyone down with chainsaws, this will be nothing like running a war ship… but remind me to carry my Avenger just in case."

"Well hopefully that doesn't happen," said Trey.

"You said the meeting is at two o'clock tomorrow?" asked Garrus.

Meela nodded. "The whole town is welcomed of course. Alan will be leading the meeting."

Shepard nodded. "And then I guess we'll see if that rumor about me is true."

Later, Meela and Trey said their goodbyes and went back home. That night after dinner and watching a comedy program, Shepard and Garrus simply lounged on the couch. Garrus had seated himself while Shepard laid on her back, her legs propped up on Garrus's lap. She found herself admiring one of the seashells Garrus had taken home with him from Palaven, the blue one that swirled within and gleamed purple in the sun.

Shepard frowned a little. "Mordin would've liked these…"

Garrus sighed as he gently massaged one of Shepard's bare feet. "Yeah…"

Shepard chuckled a little. "I remember telling him that he'd go crazy inside an hour when he told me that he wanted to collect seashells after the war was over. He responded with, 'might run tests on the seashells.'"

Garrus chuckled as well. "Sounds like him. Well… wherever he is, I'm sure he's doing just that as we speak."

Shepard sighed. "Yeah."

Garrus decided to change the subject before it got depressing. "So… if the rumor about Alan making you the housing committee leader is true… what do you think?"

Shepard gazed up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well… you might be right about it not being all that different from being a commander. Except, you know, there's the lack of dodging bullets at every turn." She shrugged. "But who knows… they may pick someone else who knows this kind of thing better than I do. After all, I'm just a soldier."

"I know that, and you know that," Garrus replied. "But everyone outside that front door of our house sees you as a brave, capable leader. I know you hate politics, but you do have a way of getting people to listen… most of the time."

"Ha!" Shepard laughed. "You can say that again."

Garrus chuckled before continuing. "But seriously… you're a paragon, Shepard, and people like a good, paragon leader."

Shepard seemed to snort at that. "I wasn't always a paragon, you know."

"How so?"

Shepard grinned as she called a few memories in her head. One in particular made her grin fade quickly. "Well… I admit, it did cross my mind _briefly_ to sacrifice the council."

"I thought as much back then," Garrus admitted. "You seemed conflicted when it came down to making that decision."

Shepard looked at him seriously as she slowly sat up on the couch and scooted closer to her turian. "I know… on one hand, sacrificing the council would have saved more lives. On the other hand, you were actually right… the fight was bigger than humanity. I realized in that moment what was _needed_ … a unity of all species. Sacrificing the council would have been better in the short run, but it would have been bad in the long run going by all the praise I received. I admit, my thoughts echoed Tali's when she said, 'I hope you know what you're doing.'"

Garrus hummed a little as he wrapped an arm around her and began stroking her hair. "You mentioned something about a unity of species." His mandibles suddenly flared in his own grin. "We're not doing too bad ourselves."

That earned a laugh from Shepard and he was glad to see her smiling again. "Not at all."

Garrus then leaned into her head and whispered low into her ear. "So, remind me what other non-paragon things you've done."

He chuckled as he felt Shepard shiver against him. "Damn you and that voice."

Garrus briefly nuzzled her temple before pulling back. "You know you like it."

He noticed the red flush in Shepard's cheek, but clearly she tried to brush it off. "Well… breaking Kai Leng's sword felt damn good."

"I probably would've felt the same way," Garrus said.

"And headbutting Gatatog Uvek was fun."

"I'm still surprised you didn't get a concussion from that."

"And then the one that surprised even me… killing Brooks when she tried to get away."

Garrus nodded. "Yeah, Wrex was getting ready to shoot her too if I remember."

Shepard nodded. "I saw that from the corner of my eye. I would've let him take the shot too." She tilted her head as she smirked. "But I bet he probably would've told me I was getting too slow or something." She leaned back onto the couch. "That was a long day anyway."

"Tell me about it," Garrus agreed.

A yawn escaped Shepard. Garrus tilted his head in amusement. "Tired?"

Shepard nodded. "A little. I wouldn't mind getting ready for bed."

"I was thinking the same thing."

From there, the couple got up from the couch and got themselves ready to hit the hay for the night.

* * *

The next day, Shepard and Garrus left their house for Main St. There, they picked up lunch from their respective markets and ate at the small park just on the edge of the street. When they were done, they went straight to the town hall for the meeting.

Once inside, it was no surprise that they couple got a few stares only because everyone knew who they were. They eventually spotted Meela and Trey and decided to sit with them.

"How are you feeling Trey?" was the first thing Shepard asked.

"I'm still sniffing, but I'm better than I was yesterday," Trey replied.

It wasn't long before the meeting was called to begin. A middle-aged bearded man took the podium and Shepard quickly realized that it was the town leader, Alan Holden. The town didn't have a proper mayor, but from what Shepard had heard, Alan's family had a long history here, his ancestors settling here around the time of the American Revolutionary War. He knew the needs of the town more than anyone, and many who lived here respected him. It was he who had pushed for the housing project for refugees.

Shepard remembered some time ago that Garrus had spoken to Alan about possibly finding her something to do with helping with the aftermath of the war, something that didn't require physical work considering her injuries. She suddenly realized if the rumor of him making her a project leader was true.

"Welcome, friends," Alan announced. "As many of you have heard by now, we finally have approval to build homes for those still at the refugee camps."

That earned quite a handful of cheers and claps from the audience. Clearly, they were thrilled. When they quieted down, Alan proceeded. "Let me say right away that the homes will be built out on the field north from here. None of the building process will affect any of the trees that are currently standing. All building materials will come directly from donated sources, though we may need to buy our own materials in the future.

"For now, our budget will allow us to build fifty homes, but if allowed, I'd like to push for seventy-five. Not everyone at the refugee camps will finally have roofs over their heads, but for those who will be lucky enough to be selected from the camps, I am confident that we will help make a big difference in their lives.

"Does anyone have any questions before we move on?"

One human raised their hand and Alan pointed to them. The human male stood up. "How will the refugees at the camps be chosen for these homes?"

"We'd like to focus on families with children and for those who need frequent medical care," Alan explained. "More than likely, we will be focusing on the camps in Manhattan, Syracuse, and Toronto."

No more questions were asked, so Alan moved on from there. "One of the things I'd like for all of us to do is to create a fundraiser so that we may buy more materials not provided for the project. I also encourage everyone here bring in any blue print ideas for the kinds of homes we can build, especially for those who are not human."

That was when Garrus spoke up. "I have a cousin on Palaven who is an architect. If it's all right, I'd like to contact him and see if he has any ideas about building a few low cost homes for turians."

"Thank you, Garrus," Alan said. "That reminds me, I'd like to personally appoint a project leader… Shepard, I'd like for you to be the housing project leader. Your duty will be overseeing the building process, making sure that we have enough supplies, choosing volunteers based on their talents, and of course, seeing that everything runs smoothly. Will you be all right with that?"

Shepard had to smile as the rumor was confirmed. "Well… I'll accept the offer if everyone in the room is all right with that."

That earned claps and cheers from everyone in the room. Clearly, they were confident that she could get the job done. Garrus leaned towards her. "Well, there's your answer."

* * *

Later that evening, Garrus had an idea for tonight, but of course, it involved a little planning. "Do me a favor, Shepard," he said. "Watch a very long movie for a few hours."

That earned a raised eyebrow from Shepard. "Why?"

"Do I have to explain?"

"Yes."

Garrus sighed. "It's a surprise and that's all I'm saying."

Shepard chuckled. "All right, big guy. I'm not sure what you're planning, but I'll play this game for now."

"Good," Garrus said. "Now… unless there's an emergency, you're not allowed to come out or look out the windows until I say so."

"Did I ever tell you that I hate surprises?"

"Yes, but you know it's going to happen anyway with me."

Shepard sighed. "All right, all right. Well, whatever you're planning, have fun."

Garrus chuckled. "You know I will. Now just sit, relax, and watch a movie."

He took a moment to shut all the curtains and blinds, darkening the cabin before he headed outside. Shepard relaxed on the couch and it didn't take long for their cat Felix to jump up and lay next to her. Shepard turned to the black cat, who gazed up at her with his golden eyes.

"So Felix, do you think this will be a good or a bad surprise?" she asked him. Felix only replied by yawning before curling himself into a ball. Shepard reached down to scratch the back of his ears, and the cat replied with a soft purr.

Later, after browsing through the vid player, Shepard found an eight-hour movie she was sure that she wasn't going to finish tonight. At least it was a decent time killer. The movie had a mixed of different species including a few elcors (hence the length of the film).

An hour into the movie, Shepard suddenly smelled something that was cooking on the barbeque grill outside. She softly smiled as she realized that Garrus was making them dinner. If that's the case, then why was this all a surprise? Guess she'll know soon enough.

An hour later, Garrus walked into the cabin. "All right, it's finally done," he announced as he took Shepard's hand and helped her to her feet. "Now, close your eyes."

Shepard turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, really," he said. "Don't worry; I'll help you walk outside. Trust me."

"You know I trust you," Shepard said as she closed her eyes.

From there, Garrus took both of her hands and carefully led her to the backyard. She eventually felt the soft wind on her face and the smell of a grilled meal on the patio table Garrus purchased a few weeks ago. There was also another smell, but Shepard couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was just yet.

Garrus moved behind her after they stopped walking. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Shepard did just that, and she was suddenly taken aback by what was in front of her. The outdoor table and chairs were set up closer to the lake and the table was covered with a white cloth. Their dinner plates were set up nicely and each plate had a cover on it to protect it from the surrounding environment. What really took her breath away were the few scented candles that were lit on the table along with a few foot tall stake lights surrounding the table and emitting a soft, warm glow.

"I would've placed up a string of lights if we actually had a gazebo," Garrus mused. "That should be my next project in time for-"

Shepard had turned to him and made him stop talking by placing her hand over his mouth. "I love it," she said with a warm smile.

His mandibles flared in a soft smile and his pressed his mouth plates into her hand in his own kiss. "You hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah. Let's eat."

They sat at the patio and Shepard removed the cover on her plate to reveal her dinner. She realized that Garrus must've done a little research prior to the dinner because it looked perfect. The plate contained a pair of t-bone steaks with grilled red potatoes and asparagus. She looked over at Garrus's plate, which of course contained his own dextro dinner.

"Looks delicious," Shepard said.

They ate quietly for a few minutes, the both of them enjoying their respective meals. Garrus then happened to look at their surroundings. "You know what would be nice? Some flowers."

Shepard chuckles. "I'm sure it would look nice with flowers. Too bad neither one of us have green thumbs."

That, of course, confused Garrus. "Green thumbs?"

"Another human expression, meaning one who has a talent for gardening. I mean, I admit, gardening has crossed my mind a few times, but I don't know… can you really imagine me trying to keep those flowers alive?"

Garrus chuckled. "Ah that's true… poor fishes."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey, Felix and the hamster are still alive, aren't they?"

"…For now."

Shepard grinned in amusement. "You ass."

Garrus laughed in reply.

Soon, they were done with dinner and Shepard managed to stand herself up by supporting herself with the table. "You know, I have this crazy idea."

"Since when do you not have crazy ideas?" Garrus pointed out.

"Very funny. Anyway, remembering how we danced at the local bar some time ago?" Garrus nodded and Shepard proceeded. "I wouldn't mind dancing like that again right now, if you want."

Garrus stood up from his seat. "Do you want me to put on some music?"

Shepard shook her head. "We don't need music to enjoy a slow dance. We can just simply listen to the sounds of nature. It's a pretty nice perk when living in the country."

Garrus nodded. "I can do that."

He walked over to her and brought her close to him. Their arms wrapped around each other and they simply swayed back and forth in silence. In the distance, they heard crickets chirping somewhere in the bushes and a few fireflies lit up near the lake. Shepard thought she heard an owl hooting in the distances, but it might've just been her imagination.

After a few minutes, she looked up at Garrus. "I actually feel… content. Not that I wasn't before but with this whole housing project, I suddenly feel like I'm not just sitting around during the recovery effort. I finally feel like I'm helping."

She felt Garrus massage her back a little. "Just remember, you still have your own recovery."

"I know," Shepard said with a frown as she looked down at the ground.

Garrus decided to stop her before the conversation got depressed. He caught her chin with his fingers and tilted her head up so that she was looking at him. "Sorry… maybe I shouldn't have said that."

"It's true, though," Shepard pointed out.

"Listen, Shepard," Garrus continued. "This has been a nice evening. Let's forget about what's out there. Tonight, it's just you and me. Nothing else matters."

He felt his heart swell when Shepard smiled at him. "Okay. Say… that gives me another crazy idea."

"You're just so full of crazy ideas tonight," Garrus chuckled.

Shepard grinned. "I was thinking we can go back inside and… blow off steam."

Garrus eyed her. "Never going let that go, huh?"

Shepard laughed. "Never."

Deciding not to wait longer, they took a moment to blow out the lit candles. Shepard had it in mind to bring the empty plates in, but then Garrus quickly scooped her into his arms. "We'll worry about that in the morning," he declared. She was left laughing as they went inside, and, using his foot, Garrus closed the door behind him.


	17. Hobbies For Dummies

Two weeks have passed since the town meeting concerning the housing project took place. Since that day, Shepard immediately got to work, mainly with planning, which included mapping, designs for the homes, and what would be most essential. Garrus' cousin, Arek, had already sent her a blue print of a simple, low-cost home for turian families.

One thing Shepard was grateful for was that the town leader, Alan Holden, was handling budgeting and getting the supplies they'll need for building. Shepard herself even suggested putting a clean room in every home for any quarian refugees, but due to the budget, Alan had suggested to wait until they had a list of every refugee who will end up accepting the offer of a new home. They'll work with any quarians chosen from there.

Shepard mainly worked from home using the large oak desk in the living room she and Garrus shared. The black, leather office chair she sat in was definitely something she could get used to compared to the standard chair she used on the Normandy. There was a terminal on the right hand side that was used for vid-calls and getting on the extranet for research. Shepard had received many calls from the locals with their suggestions. If they were good ideas, Shepard would take each one down in one of the handful of datapads that were piling up on the left side of the desk (that only left just enough room in the middle for Shepard's own use). Only once did she receive a call from an anonymous source about 'letting those dirty aliens ruin our town!' but naturally, the call was simply blocked and reported.

It almost felt strange for Shepard to have a whole weekend off because she had been so used to working so many days in a row when she was on active duty, but Alan had encouraged everyone to take the weekend off from the housing project. On this particular weekend, Garrus had left to go to both Toronto and Syracuse to deliver supplies to the refugee camps there. Originally, Garrus wanted her to come along, but Shepard realized that this would be an opportunity for the both of them to spend the weekend apart.

Besides, she still wasn't ready to go to Toronto again just yet.

In a way, Shepard was glad she didn't go. Right now, while lying on the black sofa with her feet propped up on the arm rest while watching a movie, it was especially cold in the living room thanks to central air. When she said goodbye to Garrus on the front porch, the heat of summer sun made her feel like a turkey being roasted in the hot oven on Thanksgiving. The humidity didn't help either.

Once Garrus departed, Shepard went back inside and closed every window in the house before putting the air conditioner on. It had been a ten minute process due to her legs and hips slowing her down, but one that was damn worth it the moment she pressed the 'on' button on the a/c. After that, she chose to rest on the couch and watch a movie for the rest of the morning.

At one point, Shepard looked at the left side of the living room. There was a large black shelf right against the middle of the cherry wood wall with her and Garrus' gun collection on each side. These particular guns were considered 'retired.' Aside from a few pictures of family and the Normandy crew, the black furniture was mostly bare. For some reason Shepard imagined a collection of books just like the one in Kasumi's room when she was on the Normandy. She still remembered when she noticed that collection next to Kasumi's bed.

"Don't laugh, I like those books!" Kasumi had said then. "Romance novels, crime novels, the classics. There's something about the feel of actual paper in your hands, their musty smell… it's relaxing."

Shepard chuckled at the memory. She wasn't sure what kind of books she would add to her shelf, but an idea did come to her… she would look at a catalog on the extranet later today.

Just as the movie ended, Shepard received a call alert on her omni-tool. Deciding not to get up, Shepard simply pressed the on button and the call revealed a familiar violet face with amber eyes. Only now did Shepard realize that she lacked any of the markings the asaris liked to decorate on their faces and scalp.

"Hey Meela," Shepard greeted.

"Hi Shepard, how are you?" Meela replied with a warm smile.

"Good, just spending the weekend in the house since Garrus went up to Toronto and Syracuse."

"Yeah, Trey's over at the hospital right now, too," Meela mentioned. "I was calling because I was wondering if you would like to go downtown for lunch."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "In this heat?"

"So?"

"It's hot!"

"Doesn't stop me from going to an air-conditioned restaurant called Howard's, eat some cold cut sandwiches and end lunch with an ice-cream sundae."

Ice-cream did sound good right about now. "Well… you convinced me. But you're driving… Garrus has the car for the weekend."

Meela chuckled. "Deal."

* * *

After the two women finished their lunch, Shepard asked Meela if there was a nearby bookstore anywhere that happened to sell old books. It turned out that there was one right on Main Street and that's where they headed.

Shepard hated that she had to rely on Meela just to help her get out of the car, but Meela didn't seem to mind. Then again, the asari was a nurse in training, so this was a kind of job she was definitely used to.

In between getting out of the car and going into the bookstore, Shepard realized how glad she was that Meela was able to park right in front of the store… the summer heat seemed to have grown worse. By the time they were inside and after being greeted by the human employee there, Shepard had to wipe a small bead of sweat from her forehead and she was sure that her cheeks were flushed red.

The book store they entered was fairly small, and the musky scent from those old pages was heavy in the air. The wind from the air conditioner inside felt nice against the women's faces.

"If it wasn't for the smell, I could stay in here all day," Shepard mentioned.

"Me too," Meela agreed. "So, are you looking for any books in particular?"

Shepard shrugged. "Not really. Maybe something old school, though I doubt they'll have a section that just says, 'old school.'"

"Well, let's look around then," Meela suggested.

A few minutes later, Meela ended up taking Shepard to the 'romance' section. All it took was two books to briefly browse through before Shepard had enough. Turning around, she found herself looking at the 'hobby' section. One immediately caught her curiosity and Shepard pulled the pull out before looking at the cover;

' _Gardening for Dummies_.'

Ever since she and Garrus moved into their cabin, Shepard had thoughts about how nice the yard would look with flowers. The book itself seemed to talk about both flowers and food growing as she browsed through the pages, the musky book scent becoming stronger with each turn.

Gardening… Shepard almost burst out laughing right then and there. Could she _really_ imagine herself doing such a thing? She was reminded time and time again that she couldn't even keep her fish alive back on the Normandy with a VI assistant.

' _Well… they could have a special VI that would help with that task,_ ' she thought. ' _AND sprinklers still exist… um… do we even have a sprinkler system at the house?_ '

Her thoughts were soon cut off as Meela approached with two books in her hands. "Look what I found!" she said. "These two books are classics. I recommend them."

Shepard looked at the books; ' _A Farewell to Arms'_ by Ernest Hemingway and ' _The Oscar Wilde Collection._ ' Of course, even years after these writer's deaths, they were still well known to those even without a lot of knowledge of classic literature.

"Hmm, I'll take them," Shepard replied as she took the books in her hands.

A half hour later, Shepard and Meela made their purchases. After getting the car and driving off, Meela spoke. "So I saw that gardening book you purchased."

"Huh," Shepard uttered, but then she realized why her shopping bag felt a bit heavy. She reached into it and pulled out the ' _Gardening for Dummies_ ' book. She hadn't realized until now that she had added the book to her purchase pile. "Oh… I almost forgot about that."

Meela chuckled. "I don't know anything about gardening either, but I think it would be fun."

"Maybe," Shepard said. She looked down at the book. Briefly, she thought about returning the book at a later date. Then, she shrugged and put the book back in its bag.

' _What the heck? What's the worst that could happen?'_

* * *

Two days later in the middle of the afternoon, Shepard found herself lying on the black couch with her feet propped up on the arm chair. This time, the TV was off as she found herself reading the ' _Gardening for Dummies_ ' book. Felix was curled up on her stomach, a contented purr vibrating her skin with each slow rhythm. She held the book in one hand and petted Felix's black fur with her free hand.

Naturally, the book was titled so that someone like her, with no experience in gardening, could simply understand what the hobby was all about. Still, it was a long book and there was a lot more steps in both flower and food gardening than she realized.

"Maybe I should consider some kind of VI for this," Shepard said to herself.

It was then that someone began to unlock the front door. Shepard was starting to smile as she realized that Garrus had come home… but that smile suddenly turned into slight pain because Felix chose that moment to leave by jumping off her stomach like it was a trampoline.

"Ah!" Shepard called out. "Damn cat!"

The chocolate wood door opened then and Garrus was promptly greeted by Felix, who sat down and gazed up at him with those innocent golden eyes.

"Hey Felix," Garrus greeted. "Did you miss me?"

"He tried to kill me just now," Shepard told him. She was just starting to sit up, pushing herself with just her arms at this point.

Garrus closed and locked the door behind him before going around the couch. Sitting down on the black wood coffee table after putting down a pair of paper bags down on the floor, he reached for Shepard's hands and pulled her up. She gave him a grateful smile before he leaned forward and briefly pressed his mouthplates to her lips.

"How did he try this time?" Garrus asked with a bit of amusement.

"Crushing my organs with his paws and hind legs. Either that or, apparently, I'm nothing more than a trampoline," Shepard mentioned, earning a chuckle from the turian. "How was the trip?"

"Not all that eventful, honestly," Garrus replied. "Some refugees did manage to finally get off the camps because they were able to find jobs, but not many. Other than that… all the same. I could use a shower right about now, however."

Shepard briefly leaned her forehead into his before pulling back. "Go ahead. Our dinners are cooking on the crockpot. They should be ready in a couple of hours."

"Looking forward to it." Then Garrus got up and headed to the master bathroom within their own bedroom.

Naturally, curiosity got to Shepard the moment she looked at the two bags Garrus placed down just within reach. One bag was larger and more rectangular than the other. It also happened to be the bag closest to her, so she carefully leaned forward and peered inside. She tilted her head as she noticed two eleven by seventeen blank white canvas.

"Huh, I wonder what this is about?" she asked herself.

She then reached over for the other bag and pulled it up next to her. Browsing through the bag, she became even more curious by the various paintbrushes and the colorful paints inside.

Then, she spotted a yellow and black book that looked eerily familiar. She pulled it out and looked at the front cover. Naturally, it was written in turian so she took a moment to hover her omni-tool over the writing. The tool took a few moments to translate the words. The words she read made her burst out laughing;

' _Painting for (Turian) Dummies_.'

The reason she was laughing was not because of what Garrus wanted to try out (he did mention always wanting to learn how to paint to her some time ago). It was the fact that they decided to buy similar books on the same weekend on their own separate time.

She also didn't realize that the 'For Dummies' series had editions for other species as well.

Shepard ended up browsing through the book for the heck of it, even though she couldn't read the words inside without using her omni-tool to translate. She was still doing so a half hour later when Garrus came out of the show. When he saw what she was browsing through, he couldn't help twitching his mandibles, feeling a little embarrassed. Still, he walked forward as though all was normal.

"Eh… guess you discovered my secret," Garrus said as he sat down next to her.

Shepard grinned at him. "A secret, Garrus? Really? How long were you planning to keep this so-called 'secret?'"

"Um…"

Shepard chuckled as she placed a free hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. As a matter of fact, I have something to show you."

She placed the painting book down on the coffee table before reaching down on the hardwood floor where she left her gardening book. She then showed him the book's cover. "It's titled, ' _Gardening for Dummies_ ,'" she explained.

Now it was Garrus' turn to laugh. "So that's what you've been doing this whole weekend."

"Well… not _all_ weekend," Shepard admitted. "Meela and I went to this bookstore on Main Street the other day. I was looking at the shelf to our left that day and I thought how nice it would be to have a row of books. I bought two more books there, old literature. I'm thinking there's maybe room for… ten… maybe twelve more books before I fill up that one row."

"Kind of like the one Kasumi set up on the Normandy," Garrus said as he looked at the mentioned shelf.

Shepard nodded. "Funny because that's who I thought of at the time." She then looked down at the art book. "I didn't realize they made editions for other species. Where did you get this?"

"One of the turian volunteers at the Syracuse refugee camp gave it to me," Garrus answered. "I'm not sure where he got it, but we somehow discussed art and I mentioned about maybe learning to paint one day. Before I left, he gave this to me. On the way back, I spotted this art store and bought some… well… the employee there called it a beginner's kit.'"

"Well, you're a lot further ahead in your hobby than I am," Shepard mentioned as she leaned back against the couch. "I haven't even bought any seeds or any other equipment yet."

Garrus leaned back next to Shepard on the couch as well. "Planning on growing any dextro vegetables one day?"

"I probably will eventually," Shepard said with a shrug. "But let me try levo first… though I imagine this will take a while to figure out. Same with the flowers."

Garrus chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Why do I get the feeling that domestic life has made us too soft?"

Shepard leaned her head into his shoulder. "Probably because neither one of us has been on the battlefield in a while. We're both still getting used to civilian life… but something tells me that this is the beginning of our eventual doom."

"I could think of worse positions to be in," Garrus said.

"And I could think of better positions to be in," Shepard replied with a knowing look.

Garrus chuckled. "I'll take you up on that offer later. Bones are too tired at the moment."

Shepard laughed. "All right, big guy." A funny thought came to her then. "You know… if someone told me two years ago that I'd consider gardening, I would've recommended them to an insane asylum."

"Funny how things change in a short span of time."

"… Yeah."

"Do you plan to use a VI program for the garden?"

"Maybe. That reminds me… do we have a sprinkler system?"


	18. The Master Thief

The heat wave that hit the small town where Shepard and Garrus lived had broken only a week after it started. No longer needing the air conditioner on for now, every window in the cabin was opened, letting the light afternoon breeze in and cooling the rooms.

Sitting on the black sofa in the living room, Garrus had his bare feet propped up on the coffee table. In front of him, the TV was on the Alliance News Network, the news anchor discussing the current news around the universe.

Garrus was barely paying any attention to the TV, however. Shepard sat closely next to him on his left, her own bare feet propped up on the coffee table as well. Not for the first time, he stared at both of their feet, once more noticing the vast difference between them. The top portion of his own feet had the same gray plates that covered a large part of his body while the rest exposed his light brown, leathery skin. Each foot had a set of two long talons, all slightly trimmed. They were trimmed enough to where they weren't too sharp, but at the same time, he could still walk without losing his balance when walking barefoot.

Shepard's own feet looked small and delicate to him just like the rest of her (but again, looks were deceiving). Like her fingers, all ten toes also had small nails on each toe. Those toes were so tiny to him and even the two she called 'big toes' looked fragile to him. On the top of her right foot, there was a curved scar just below the base of her big toe that she received as a child and was apparently missed when Cerberus rebuilt her.

"Admiring my toes again?" Shepard teased as her right foot playfully bumped the side of his left foot.

Garrus leaned back into the couch. "No."

"Liar," she chuckled. It was quickly replaced with a frown. "I'd lift my foot and play footsie with you, but my hip is protesting against me."

Garrus gave her a concerned look. "You okay?"

"I think so," Shepard replied. "I think I overexerted myself at physical therapy today. I just need to take it easy and I'll be all right."

Garrus forced himself to nod. "All right." He then thought of something. "By the way, what the hell is a 'footsie?'"

Shepard was about to answer when then news anchor on TV interrupted her with an announcement. "Recently, the first known Commander Shepard-themed wedding took place right here on Earth!"

Her head immediately turned to the TV, her eyes seeing the smiling reporter. "A Commander Shepard-themed wedding? Did I hear that right?"

Garrus chuckled. "Yes you did."

"Oh God…" she mumbled, unsure of what to think.

The anchor continued with her report. "The young couple celebrated their matrimony in a Las Vegas-style wedding officiated by a Shepard impersonator."

Shepard's jaw dropped open. "What the… what the hell am I, the next Elvis?!"

Garrus gave her a confused look. "Who?"

Shepard sighed. "I'll explain later."

The anchor proceeded. "Now, here's reporter Mira Davidson with the newly wedded couple in Las Vegas."

As soon as the camera switched to the Las Vegas scene, Shepard's eyes widened with horror the moment she saw the couple. It honestly should have not been a surprise to her, and yet, she couldn't help but sit there in shock.

The reporter, Mira, began to speak. "I'm here with the newlyweds, who are soon to leave for their honeymoon, but they were more than thrilled to share their story to the universe. I am proud to introduce; Mr. and Mrs. Conrad and Jenna Verner!"

Shepard could tell by the way Garrus was shaking next to her that he was trying all he could not to laugh. Shepard turned to him with a death glare. "Do you find something funny, Vakarian?"

Garrus immediately stopped shaking and cleared his throat. "Um, no ma'am."

"That's what I thought."

"I hadn't realized Verner survived the war."

"Me neither."

"And didn't we help the girl on TV at Chora's Den when we were chasing Saren?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"How did they find each other?"

"… Long story."

Mira had turned to Conrad and Jenna by then. "So tell me, you two, how were you inspired to have what is possibly the first Commander Shepard-themed wedding?"

The couple was beaming with delight and they were clearly happy. It was Conrad who spoke. "Well Mira, it just so happens that Jenna and I both know the Commander. She helped us when we needed it and she's always nice to us."

Jenna spoke next. "As a matter of fact, she kind of introduced us at the Citadel refugee camp during the war. See, this Cerberus guy was going to shoot the Commander, but I sabotaged his gun to make it look like it fired. Still, Conrad jumped in front of her and was willing to put his life on the line for her. I thought it was one of the bravest things any civilian has ever done."

Conrad continued. "And we hit it off from there. We though this wedding would be a great way to thank her for not only helping us, but also getting us together."

Mira smiled at them. "That is so sweet. Well I wish you both the best in your marriage."

"Thank you," they both said.

Mira turned back to the camera. "Well, there you have it folks, the first known Shepard-themed wedding has taken place. Will this be the first of many? We'll know soon enough. Now back to the studio."

When that was over, Shepard used her omni-tool to turn off the TV. The second the screen went black, Garrus couldn't help the fits of giggles right then and there. Shepard folded her arms and glared at him, simply waiting until he stopped laughing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Garrus said. "You humans have some… interesting wedding customs."

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "You're going to pay for that later."

Garrus leaned forward to press his mouthplate against her right temple. "Promises, promises," he whispered.

He suddenly froze in his place as he realized something. "Wait a minute… a Cerberus agent pointed a gun at you at the refugee camp? When was this?"

Shepard took a deep breath. "Um… well, it happened right after the Cerberus Coup on the same day. It was such a minor incident that it wasn't even worth talking about. It also happened the same day I ran into Balak, which I _did_ tell you about. I did slug the guy after his gun was sabotaged and I had him promptly arrested if that makes you feel better."

Garrus sighed. "All right, you have a point. That _was_ a very long day, wasn't it?"

Shepard sighed. "Yeah…"

He then began to get up and reached for the two plates they used for lunch on the coffee table. "I'll go put these away. Say, what did you want for dinner tonight?"

"With the way my hip is feeling, I'd say let's do take-out," Shepard replied. "I personally wouldn't mind Chinese food."

"Hmm," Garrus hummed. "It is right down the street from the dextro market. I'll stop there and get myself a dextro pizza."

"Sounds good," Shepard said.

From there, Garrus went into the kitchen. He headed to the steel sink and placed the dishes there, deciding to wash it out and put it in the dishwasher later. Just as he was turning around, Garrus suddenly noticed a thermal reading in his visor. Through his visor, he noticed a figure sitting at the small oak wood table, holding a round object in one hand that looked like one of Shepard's apples.

He knew right away that the cloaked figure wasn't Shepard only because, sadly, she couldn't move that fast these days. However, Garrus knew that this wasn't the kind of intruder who came to harm them… only because this person was clearly making themselves at home as though they lived here. Only one person he knew would welcome themselves to their cabin in this fashion.

"You know you could've just knocked on the front door, Kasumi," Garrus called out. "We would've been more than happy to welcome you."

"Oh drat," a female voice said as she got out of her cloak, revealing herself. As always, Kasumi Goto wore her mostly black and gray attire and concealed all by the lower half of her face with her black hood. A half-eaten granny apple was in her hand, confirming Garrus's suspicion.

"What's the fun in just knocking on the front door?" Kasumi asked with a half-smile. "And how did you know I was here?"

Garrus pointed at his visor. "Believe it or not, I don't wear this visor as a fashion statement."

Kasumi chuckled. "I always thought it was just permanently attached to your head."

Of course, Shepard had heard the conversation from the living room since the kitchen was, well, ten feet away from where she was sitting. She managed to push herself off the couch and made her way to the kitchen. As soon as she walked through the doorframe, Shepard smiled as she noticed one of her old squad mates casually eating an apple at the table.

"Kasumi," Shepard greeted. "I am absolutely not surprised by your unique entrance to our house."

Kasumi smiled. "Hey Shep. Well, you did leave all the windows open, so I just went through the one above the sink."

"It would've been too warm in here otherwise," Shepard pointed out as she sat down at the table opposite of Kasumi.

"Remind me to buy screens for all the windows," Garrus mumbled as he leaned against the kitchen counter while gazing at the window above the sink.

Kasumi proceeded. "I would've visited sooner, but believe it or not, I've been keeping myself busy."

"How did you manage to find us?" asked Garrus.

Kasumi gave him a knowing look even through her hood. "Funny thing… I got the information for free by the Shadow Broker."

Shepard chuckled a little. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, turned out I didn't have to try to steal it through a hacking program," Kasumi shrugged. "Anyway, since the end of the war, I've been, well, robbing the more well-off people and helping the refugees at the camps who have nowhere else to go."

"So you're playing Robin Hood again?" asked Shepard.

"Who's Robin Hood?" questioned Garrus.

"A folklore hero who would rob from the rich and give their riches to the poor," Shepard explained. "Not the most conventionally way of helping the refugees, but it could be worse."

"Even with everything that's happened, the rich are just as greedy as they were before the Reapers," Kasumi said. "And with what I steal, they'll barely notice a few thousand dollars missing from their accounts. Either way, I plan to go off-planet soon."

Shepard tilted her head at that. "Why?"

"I recently got a tip that Spectre Jondum Bau is here on Earth now looking for me," Kasumi replied.

Shepard chuckled. "So much for faking your own death."

Kasumi shrugged. "I did throw him off for a while, but considering how good of a spectre he is, I knew he would eventually figure out that I was still alive."

"How did he find out?" asked Garrus.

Kasumi sighed almost shamefully. "Apparently, he knows me _too_ well. I have a certain method to my work and he caught on to it. My mistake. I've since changed up my methods."

"I see," Shepard said.

"I'm the best thief in the galaxy, and I plan to keep it that way."

Garrus noticed a new thermal reading in his visor then, specifically under Kasumis' real cloak. He realized suddenly exactly what it was and wondered, briefly, if she was doing this as a joke.

"Is that why you have our cat under your cloak?"

Kasumi laughed as she unfolded her cloaks. "Whoops," she chuckled as she pulled her cloak back. Felix immediately bolted out of the room, but not before letting out a loud hiss on the way out.

Shepard shook her head. "I was wondering why Felix was so quiet."

"Don't worry, I wasn't actually going to steal your cat," Kasumi said with a grin. "That was just to test out if you guys haven't got yourself too comfortable with retirement just yet."

"Well, we're not necessarily 'retired' per se," Garrus explained. "But I'm glad you're concerned about our skills."

Kasumi sighed a little. "I do love cats, but I just don't have the time to commit to one. How did you end up adopting him?"

"He kept following Garrus around town and he just decided to stick around once he realized where we lived," Shepard said.

Kasumi laughed at that. "I bet it was because he thought Garrus was some giant cat."

Shepard laughed. "Really? I always thought he looked like a bird."

Kasumi turned her head to Garrus. "Oh I see now… like a peacock."

"First of all," Garrus replied as he folded his arms in front of him. "I'm standing right here, so there's no need to talk about me like I'm not here. Second of all, I'm _not_ an animal. I'm a sentient species like the both of you. And third of all, what the hell is a peacock?"

Immediately, Shepard opened up her omni-tool, typed in a few commands, and soon brought up a picture of a peacock. Garrus glared at the picture for a moment before his blue eyes narrowed.

"… I do not look like that."

Kasumi chuckled. "Well, you have to admit, you always wear that color blue." That made Shepard laugh.

Kasumi then thought of something. "Hey Garrus, can I ask you something?"

Garrus narrowed his eyes again. "If this is about me looking like a peacock-"

"Actually, it about something else," Kasumi said. She then gave him what looked like a serious look. "Is it true that when you turians become bonded that you 'mark' each other by biting and leaving scars behind?"

Shepard wondered for a moment if the sudden, horrified look on Garrus' face was any worse than the horrified look she had when she learned of the Commander Shepard-themed wedding earlier.

"What? NO!" Garrus called out. "Where the hell did you hear that from?"

"The extranet," Kasumi replied. "There's a forum all about it and some humans consider it a fetish."

"Like you can believe everything on the extranet," Garrus pointed out. "I mean how… what…"

"Baffled much, Garrus?" asked Shepard, an amused look on her face.

Garrus managed to groan as he recollected himself. "Do you humans think we turians are some kind of… what are those things called… vampires?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's where the rumors came from," Kasumi mentioned. "I mean, you have sharp teeth like them and some girls think that's pretty sexy."

"These teeth are only used to slice up meat and nothing more," Garrus explained.

"It's true," Shepard pointed out. "Aside from meat, everything else he eats is pretty much swallowed whole."

Kasumi chuckled. "Those teeth must be why turians don't perform _fellatio._ "

Now it was Shepard's turn to feel horrified and her face turned red like a tomato. "Kasumi, for a master thief who's a pro at stealth, you're not very subtle with words…"

"Only on very, very rare occasions."

"Okay, my translator just glitched at that word," Garrus replied.

"You don't want to know," Shepard warned.

"I'm looking it up later," Garrus mentioned.

"Do that after Kasumi leaves."

Kasumi managed to control her laughter. "It's times like these that make me miss the Normandy. Say, you plan on getting the old gang back together one of these days?"

"We've talked about it before," Shepard mentioned. "I'm not sure when it will happen, but we'll definitely let you know when it happens."

"Good to know," Kasumi said. "I look forward to it."

The thief then turned her head to the turian again. "Can I ask you one more question?"

Garrus glared at her. "No."

"Oh come on!" Kasumi begged. "I promise it has nothing to do with culture rumors."

"…No."

"Come on Garrus," Shepard joined. "Just one more question and I'll have her stay off your back."

"Don't encourage her, Shepard."

"Hey, this is revenge for laughing at me over the earlier news."

"Oh the one about the wedding," Kasumi said. "I was waltzing into your cozy cabin when that news started to play."

Garrus groaned. "Fine… but one more and that's it."

"Thank you," Kasumi said. "Now… when you two finally get married, will Shepard need to paint her face with your markings or can she leave her face bare?"

Garrus wasn't horrified by the question, but Shepard could clearly see that the question baffled him a bit. She realized quickly that he was unsure of how to answer the question.

"Well, um…" he started to stutter. "I… damn, we never even discussed this…"

"It hasn't been something we've talked about since I'm still recovering from my injuries," Shepard explained to her.

"I see," Kasumi replied, nodding in understanding. "Well, if it came down to it, would you?"

Garrus finally managed to gather his words. "Well, it is part of the tradition to have one's face painted like their bondmates as a sign of a union, unless they're from the same colony, but… well… I wouldn't want Shepard to if she didn't want to."

Shepard shrugged. "Maybe just around your family?"

Garrus seemed to agree as he nodded. "Yeah, just around the family, or even if we were just visiting Palaven."

"Sounds good," Shepard said. She then turned around and glared at Kasumi. "And now we are most likely going to have an awkward discussion tonight about wedding traditions."

Kasumi smiled. "You're welcome."

"Do you want to stay over for dinner?"

"I was hoping you would ask. I haven't had Chinese food in a while."

Shepard snorted. Of course she heard that earlier conversation in the living room right before they realized she was here.

* * *

After an dinner of Chinese food (and dextro pizza), Shepard, Garrus, and Kasumi settled with watching a new comedy film about four spectres, one from each council species (with the human looking suspiciously like Shepard) who find themselves in funny situations. Most of the time, Shepard couldn't help but find herself pointing out (in her head) a chunk of the inaccuracies portrayed in the film.

It was some time during that movie when Kasumi chose to sneak out of the cabin. Neither Shepard nor Garrus realized this until the movie was over.

"Huh, not even a goodbye," said Garrus.

Shepard chuckled. "Well it's not like she came in with a hello."

"Fair enough." Garrus then took a moment to stretch his arms. "Well, I think I'm going to get ready for bed. Since I hadn't counted on Kasumi coming over today, not that I mind or anything, I'm a little behind on modding that rifle for that bar owner in town."

"I can help you tomorrow if needed," Shepard offered. "At the moment, I'm waiting on Mr. Holden working out what supplies the housing project needs before we push forward, so I have nothing else to do until then."

Garrus seemed to think over this for a moment before he finally nodded. "Sure, I don't mind."

By then, Garrus was up and headed into the kitchen. As Shepard slowly got up, she could hear Garrus turning on the tap water and she knew what he was doing. Although they had a feeding and water dish for their cat in the kitchen, they also had a set outside, which they would fill up every evening before bed since Felix liked being outside at night.

Garrus soon shut the faucet off and was coming out of the kitchen when Shepard stopped him. "I'll take care of that," she offered as she took the bottled water out of his hand.

"Is your hip okay?" he asked her.

"It's still sore, but better than it was earlier today."

Garrus nodded. "Okay." Then his mandibles flared into a grin. "Meet me in the bedroom?"

Shepard laughed. "Okay."

"Oh, one more thing… I looked up that word Kasumi mentioned before."

"What word?"

" _Fellatio._ " He shook his head, but his mandibles flared into a grin. "Like I mentioned with butts, you humans do have a lot of different words for-"

"Hey, that word happens to be in another Earth language."

"Uh huh. Anyway, meet me in the bedroom."

She grinned. "Why, you want to-"

Garrus immediately cleared his throat, stopping her. There was a brief pause before he spoke. "Just meet me in the bedroom when you're done."

She laughed as he left for the bedroom. She then headed to the front door. However, with each slow step she took, Shepard could feel pain shoot into her right hip every time she put pressure on her right foot. It wasn't excruciating, but she knew that she wouldn't last too long on her own two feet if she tried.

"Damn, I might have to see a doctor if this doesn't let up," she muttered under her breath. She hoped that she didn't have to and that this was only a temporary problem.

After opening the front door, Shepard stepped outside. That was when she suddenly realized that someone was sitting on one of the two wicker chairs on the porch from the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she realized that the figure was Kasumi.

Kasumi sat in the chair closest to the door just next to the cat's dishes. She was leaning forward and, through the shadow of her hood, a light blue visor went across both of her eyes. In her hands, both resting on her knees, was the gray box Shepard helped her retrieve during the Cerberus days, the box that contained memories of Kasumi's partner, Keiji.

Shepard frowned a little. She knew that Kasumi had been close with Keiji and that his murdered had a profound effect on her. His death had happened not long before they met, and it seemed as though moving on was still hard for her.

She was then a bit started when Kasumi suddenly spoke. "Hey Shep. Don't mind me. I thought I'd indulge in some memories for a little bit before I depart."

"That's fine," Shepard replied. She took a moment to fill the water dish before she spoke again. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"No, go ahead."

Shepard then walked over to the other wicker chair before sitting down. For a while, the two sat in silence, and Shepard found herself gazing out at the field in front of her. The only light around aside from the porch light was the one coming from the nearly full moon above in the night sky. There was hardly any light pollution, so it was easy to see the twinkling stars.

"How's your recovery going?" Kasumi asked as she shut off her gray box, her visor disappearing.

"Going very slow, but I'm improving each day," Shepard replied. "I don't think I'll be doing jumping jacks anytime soon, but I'm getting there."

"When that day comes, drinks are on me."

Shepard grinned. "I seem to recall you owed me a drink if I lived through the Reaper War."

"Ah, so I did," Kasumi smiled.

"Don't worry, a lot happened afterwards, but I'm still holding you to it."

"Maybe I'll buy the drinks when everyone from the Normandy gets together again," Kasumi suggested. "Speaking of which, have you heard from Jacob?"

Shepard chuckled. "He's now married and has a daughter."

"Rats," Kasumi replied with a snap of her fingers. "I was hoping to find him and wile him with my feminine charms again. I still wonder if he likes Japanese girls with a penchant for kleptomania."

That made Shepard laugh. "I don't think his wife Brynn would appreciate that."

"Well… then I'll wait until the divorce."

"Keep dreaming, Kasumi."

"Yeah, yeah."

Then, Kasumi remembered something. "Hey Shep… about the secret in this gray box-"

"The Alliance was able to keep it under wraps despite the leak," Shepard explained. "The war kept a lot of us busy that not many had noticed it. I think a lot of it had to do with Bau's assistance in the matter. He kept everything confidential."

Kasumi nodded. "Okay."

There was a brief pause before Shepard spoke. "Where do you plan to go when you go off-planet?"

"I haven't decided yet," Kasumi replied. "But I think I'm leaning towards Illium. Despite the war, their economy is as strong as ever."

"They were one of the plants that stayed relatively intact after the war," Shepard pointed out. "Are you planning to do…'business' there when you arrive."

Kasumi smiled. "Of course. My pockets have been pretty light lately. I should get back into the practice full time."

"Well, you aren't called the master thief for nothing. Just… don't get caught, okay?"

"Hey, as I mentioned back on the Citadel, I never get caught. You're not trying to jinx me are you?"

Shepard laughed. "Of course not. I'm just a concerned person looking out for the well-being of a friend."

"…Sweet talker. And Shep?"

"Yeah?"

"… It was good to see you again."

"Same here."


	19. Autumn

One chilly afternoon, a box was delivered to the cabin which Garrus signed for. He noticed that the package in question was addressed to Shepard. Before bringing it inside, he used his omni-tool to detect the items inside… and to make sure there wasn't anything like a bomb inside. One can never be too sure these days.

Once the omni-tool gave him the all clear, Garrus went inside, closing the door behind him. "You got another package," he announced.

Shepard was leaning forward on the couch while arranging some strange-looking items on the coffee table. She looked up at the turian with a grin. "That must be some of the Halloween items I ordered last week."

Garrus let out an exasperated sigh as he placed the box on the table. "More Halloween stuff?"

"Yes," Shepard replied as she began to open the package. "After all, this year will be our first holiday in this house, so this is the perfect time to stock up on decorations we'll be using for years to come."

"I see," Garrus said with a scratch of his head. "You know, ever since this weather has been getting colder and the trees have been changing colors, you've really got yourself into this holiday spirit."

Shepard chuckled as she gazed out the living room window. Across the lake and up on the small hills, she could see the leaves on the trees changing from green to various colors of red, orange, yellow, and brown. Their reflection on the lake made the scenery much more beautiful. The blue sky outside was completely voided of clouds, and there were a lot of leaves that had fallen from the branches and began to cover the greenish-yellow grass.

"Yeah, I guess I have," Shepard said. She then pulled out one of the new trinkets she ordered on the extranet… a black cat standing on all fours with its back arched up and wearing a witch's hat on its head. "Help me decorate the living room."

"Fine," Garrus replied.

For a half hour, the two of them decorated the living room with both the items Shepard got earlier and the ones she got today. Garrus would especially help with hard-to-reach places and she would give him direction on where to put it.

"Hmm, no," Shepard said with a shake of her head as he went to place up an orange jack-o-lantern figurine on the book shelf. "Move that to the right… no, _your_ right! No no, now you can't see the face, turn it around! Angle it a little to the left! No, your left! There, STOP! That's perfect!"

"Shepard," Garrus said as he gazed at her.

"Yeah?"

"We're decorating and you're using your commander tone."

Shepard tried to hide the smirk that tried to develop over her lips. "So?"

"… You're messing with me, aren't you?"

"Maybe," she replied in a sing-song voice.

Later in the afternoon, Garrus went outside to rake the leaves off the front lawn. He admitted that he liked how crisp the air was… but he still hated the cold. Just a few weeks ago, Shepard went out of her way to order some turian clothes from Palaven that would protect him from the cooling weather. Even now, Garrus thinks she should've ordered heavier material.

He was not looking forward to this… winter.

Shepard was leaning against the tree on their front lawn wearing her N7 hoodie and black sweatpants to keep herself warm. She had created a small pile of leaves next to her and was examining an orange leaf that resting in the palm of her hand.

"Say," Garrus called out as he started rake up the last section of leaves on the ground. "What makes these leaves change color around this time of year?"

"Hmm, good question," Shepard said. She pulled up her omni-tool and began to search around the extranet for answers.

Garrus's mandibles flared out in a grin. "So I finally asked a question that requires you to look it up on the extranet."

Shepard gave him the stink eye. "Be quiet." Garrus laughed at that. She then resumed her research.

She soon found what she was looking and began reading the answer to him. "During the summer, the trees work hard to keep you cool by using their shade. This is from a process called photosynthesis, when the trees use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar, thus feeding the leaves that help with the shade."

"Sugar, huh?" Garrus uttered.

"When the days get shorter, trees soon no longer need to use all of this energy, so they begin to prepare for winter. They use less of a pigment called chlorophyll, which is what keeps the leaves green. The less used, the more the colors change."

By now, Garrus had finished raking the leaves, a large pile left behind. He was just about to retrieve the large garbage bag in the garage when Shepard called out to him. "Help me up, will you?"

Garrus obliged as he walked over to her and took her outstretched hands. Carefully, he pulled her up onto her feet. "How are you feeling today?" he asked her.

"Hip feels a bit sore, but I actually think it's from sleeping on one side all night," Shepard replied as she rubbed the offending hip. "I'll have to lay on my other side tonight."

"That means you'll be snoring in my face tonight," Garrus teased.

"Hey, you're not exactly quiet in your sleep either," Shepard retorted with a poke of her finger to his chest.

Garrus rubbed at the spot Shepard poked up before he stared at her. "I'd poke you back, but lucky for you, my talons need to be clipped. Besides, I do _not_ snore."

She chuckled. "Uh huh."

"I'm going to go get the garbage bag from the garage," Garrus said.

"Oh! Use the ones I got with the faces on it, will you?" Shepard requested. "It'll be fun to display them on the front lawn."

"Fine." He turned on his heel before leaving.

Shepard noted the leaves pile and took a few steps forward. She recalled from old vids where kids would jump into a piles of leaves and start to play in them like they didn't have a care in the world. She realized that she never had that experience as a child.

She did something she knew was risky because of her recovery… she let herself fall back first into the pile of leaves, the landing much softer than she anticipated. The smell of the autumn leaves tickled at Shepard's nose, and it reminded her of a sweet spice mixed with the scent of wood.

"Shepard!" Garrus called out and she could hear him running towards her. She felt bad right then and there… the poor guy must've thought she had fallen and hurt herself. As soon as Garrus was in her view, she gave him the biggest smile she could muster, mainly to show that she was fine.

"What are you doing there?" he asked once his nerves were calm.

Shepard gathered some leaves into her hands. "It's more of a child's tradition, but where I came from, I didn't exactly get this opportunity." She then tossed the piles above her before it rained back down around her. "Don't mind if I take it!"

She grabbed another pile and attempted to throw it at Garrus, but they didn't quite make it and instead landed by his feet. "Jump in! It's fun!"

For a brief moment, Garrus felt somewhat annoyed. All that work of getting the leaves into a pile was now going to waste. But then he saw how happy she was… she was grinning, her cheeks flushed a little from the weather, and her eyes looked bright and cheery.

If there was one thing he liked about this autumn season, it's that it put Shepard in this kind of mood. He was now willing to walk in this cold in just his underwear if it meant seeing her this happy.

The turian didn't understand this whole custom of playing in the pile of leaves, but he decided to just go along with it. He sat himself down, the leaves crunching underneath him.

"What's with this custom of jumping into a pile of leaves and throwing them around?" he asked.

"It's just fun," Shepard said. "Just wait until winter, Vakarian, when we start throwing snowballs at each other. I promise it'll remind you of old times."

Garrus grinned as he picked up a pile of leaves in his hands. "Well, we'll make due with leaves until then." He then threw some of it at her with some of the leaves clinging to her hair. She tossed her own pile at them and one of them actually got stuck in between two of his crests. That made her burst into a fit of giggles.

"This is so my favorite season," Shepard declared.

"Meh, too cold," said Garrus.

"Watching you survive winter is definitely going to be interesting."

"We'll see."

* * *

Later that night after dinner, Shepard and Garrus decided to cozy up in the living room. The only light in the room was the fire from the fireplace, keeping them warm from the night chill. Shepard had even prepared them each a mug of apple cider, which was actually dual chirality. It was not as a good as the actual levo stuff, but it does the job.

"You know," Garrus said after some silence. "I seem to recall how we were going to retire somewhere warm and tropical. What happened to that?"

Shepard snorted in amusement. "You're the one who picked this place for us to live in."

Garrus shrugged. "This town has a mixed population."

Shepard tilted her head. "Hmm… true. I do love it here and this season proves why… it makes this cabin all nice and cozy when it's cold outside."

Garrus gazed with his blue eyes out the window. Though it was dark now, he could still see the light of the moon shimmering off the lake and the shadowed outline of the trees across the way. "I do admit, the view is nice with all the colors. I still don't like the cold."

Shepard smiled at him. "It's just going to get worse from here, big guy."

"Well…" Garrus then moved himself so that he was lying down. Then carefully, he laid his head down on Shepard's lap, making sure that his fringe didn't scratch her side. "If it means the two of us get cozy more often, that doesn't sound like such a bad thing."

Shepard warmly smiled as she began to stroke the side of his fringe with her fingers. "Not at all."

For a while afterwards, the two remained in contented silence. The only sound that was heard was the crackling of the flames in the fireplace. Shepard leaned herself back more into the couch and closed her eyes, enjoying the peace around her.

Shepard eventually opened her eyes when she heard Garrus' light snoring. She chuckled a little at this. "'I don't snore' my foot," she muttered in amusement. Eventually, she was going to want to be in bed, but for now, she would let Garrus sleep with his head on her lap.

The TV remote was right next to her, so she went ahead and reached for it before turning it on, making sure to keep the volume on low. It was already on the Alliance News Network. At the moment, the reporter was speaking to a chef about the different variety of fall-themed desserts and treats, many of the displayed on the table for the viewers to see.

' _Mmm, I haven't had pumpkin pie in years,_ ' Shepard mused in her mind. ' _I wonder if it's something Garrus can eat._ '

Once that segment was over, the network quickly announced 'Breakings News!' It didn't take long before the female reporter's face was shown.

"Good evening," the reporter greeted. "Just a half hour ago at a conference in Vancouver, Admiral Stephen Hackett of the Alliance has just announced that Shalta Ward, one of five wards that represents the arms of the Citadel, will be reopening this month! No details as of yet as to exactly when the ward will open, but those who were residents of that ward will soon be able to return to their homes. There will also hold a reopening ceremony, to be led by military leaders and politicians, when the time comes. Shalta Ward was the least damaged of the five arms at the end of the Reaper War, and as of right now, there is no word as to when the other wards will reopen as well as the Presidium itself. We will report the latest as they come in…"

Shepard took a deep breath after hearing that announcement. She knew that Shalta Ward was going to reopen sooner or later, but it was something she didn't think about for a while, at least until now.

With the ceremony announcement, Shepard wondered if Hackett was going invite her to the reopening. She also was curious, not for the time, whether or not the apartment that once belonged to Anderson was still standing on Zakera Ward.

In the back of her mind, Shepard also began to wonder if she can actually get on the Citadel without receiving any unpleasant flashbacks…


	20. The Wards

A week had passed since Shepard saw the news report about Shalta Ward on the Citadel, which was reopening soon. Although they announced that it would occur this month, there was no official date just yet. However, since the announcement was made at a conference by Admiral Hackett, she had a feeling that he was going to invite her to the official reopening ceremony.

So when she woke up one morning with a priority message alert on her omni-tool, it came as no surprise to her.

While still in bed, Shepard opened her message box and immediately tapped the one sent by Hackett. Once it was open, she read the contents written out for her;

_Shepard,_

_You may have heard by now since it was announced last week, but just in case you haven't, Shalta Ward on the Citadel will be reopening. Although construction is still underway on the Citadel, those who have lived on the ward will be able to return to their homes._

_The reopening ceremony is one week from today, and I'm writing to invite you and one guest to attend the ceremony. You don't need to make any speeches and this invitation is an option, not an order. Do let me know as soon as possible if you wish to attend._

_Sincerely,_

_Admiral Stephen Hackett_

After reading the message, Shepard decided to give herself a full day to think it over. For one thing, it would be the first time since the end of the Reaper War that she'd find herself on the Citadel. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she would receive any flashbacks while she was there…

From her bed, she could hear the shower running. Obviously, Garrus was showering… and most likely using up so much of the hot water since the weather was getting colder each day.

' _I wonder how much he's going to use the heater,_ ' Shepard thought with a small sigh, already imagine how much the heating bill was going to cost. She wondered if maybe it was best if they spend the winter someplace warm, but that's a thought she'll think about later.

Deciding not to get out of bed yet, Shepard pressed a few commands on her omni-tool, activating the brand new TV Garrus had installed in the bedroom. A small device on the ceiling projected a solid, clear image as though she was watching on a regular TV set similar to the one in the living room, covering the large window in front of the bed.

As always, the channel was left on the Alliance News Network. The first thing Shepard saw was an image of what the Citadel looked like when it was in the Widow system before it was dragged to the Sol system. Shepard realized how strange it may feel being in one of the wards without the view of the lavender gases surrounding the famous station.

Shepard listened to the news reporter on the TV;

"Reporting live from Vancouver… in just seven days, one of the five arms of the Citadel, Shalta Ward, will reopen to the public for the first time since the end of the Reaper War. Those who had lived in the ward will now be able to return to their homes and those who had worked on the arm will be able to return to their jobs depending on the status of their respective companies.

"In the aftermath of the war, the Citadel was significantly damaged when the Crucible's blast destroyed the Reapers. Shalta Ward was the least damaged of the five arms and the Presidium with only a few damaged or destroyed buildings, which have since been rebuilt. The ward has since received restored power, and water supply and food stocks will be delivered prior to the Ward's reopening. At this time, the other four wards as well as the Presidium are still being rebuilt…"

The mention of the Crucible brought on a small headache and Shepard found herself frowning as she rubbed her temples with her fingers. Shepard knew that she somehow activated the Crucible, but it was an event that, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't remember it. It may have destroyed the Reapers, but the Geth, except those who installed themselves in Quarian suits, were also lost…

Suddenly, a memory came over her mind…

_Shepard had felt pain before, but never like this… her entire body felt like it was both on fire and being stabbed with a thousand knives at once. She's talking to Anderson through her com link, but to her ears, her words sounded muffled. She didn't have to look in a mirror to know that she was covered in blood, though she did notice how charred her armor was. She had a tight hold on the pistol in her right hand, but it felt heavy… so, so heavy…_

" _Shepard!" she heard a voice say… soon realizing that it didn't belong to Anderson._

" _What the…"_

"Shepard!"

Shepard blinked a couple of times before she quickly found herself back in her room in the cabin. When her vision cleared, she was staring at Garrus, who gave her a look of concern. It took another second to realize that both of his hands were grasping her upper arms.

At some point during the flashback, Garrus got out of the bathroom after his shower. By the way she stared off into space, he realized that she was having a flashback and promptly shook her out of it. Once she was back in reality, he sighed with relief. As of now, she seemed more confused than disturbed.

"You okay?" he asked quietly as he began to gently rub her bare arms with his hands.

Shepard took a deep breath before answering. "I… I think so." She cleared her throat a little. "I… got a message from Hackett this morning inviting me to the Shalta Ward reopening. Then I decided to watch the news and they were talking about the reopening…"

Garrus' mandibles twitched a bit. "Maybe it's time to stop watching the news. You know it's going to be a while before they stop talking about the war."

Shepard shrugged, though she managed to smirk a little. "But I like watching the news. I like knowing what's happening around the galaxy."

"But if it's going to give you flashbacks like that…"

Shepard tilted her head. "Garrus… I could've received the flashback when I read Hackett's message… should I stop checking messages on my omni-tool, too?"

Garrus seemed to think over that for a second before he removed one hand from her arm. "You're right… but in general, this is not the first time these flashbacks happened."

"I know."

Once again, the turian's mandibles twitched. "In that case, do you think you should go to the ceremony on Shalta Ward? Because… well…"

Shepard folded her arms in front of her and gave him a disapproving stare. "Are you trying to say I shouldn't go at all?"

"No, no, that's wasn't my intention," Garrus explained with a wave of a hand. He then used the same hand to place it on top of hers, even though her arms remained folded. "What I'm trying to say is… do you think being on the Citadel might bring back unpleasant memories that might cause even more flashbacks?"

Shepard's expression relaxed a bit and she turned her hand so that it was grasping onto his. "I see where you're coming from… but sooner or later, I going to have to face it. Maybe, in the end, once I revisit again, it may reduce the amount of flashbacks. And maybe I'll remember something I can't… like what happened between my conversation with Hackett and the Crucible blast."

Garrus slowly nodded. "Do you think you'd want to remember? What if whatever happened up there is worse than you can imagine? Would you want to know?"

Shepard shrugged. "Honestly… I don't know. Perhaps it may provide crucial information, perhaps not. And who knows if I'll remember anything at all. All I know is that I'll have to go up there sooner or later… and you know me, Garrus… I prefer to face a problem head-on if I can help it."

Garrus chuckled. "That I do. So… I'm guessing you're planning to go?"

Shepard nodded before smiling. "And I can bring a guest, so you get to come along."

Garrus laughed a little louder. "I appreciate the invite, but I already received one from Victus this morning while you were still sleeping." He brought her hand closer to him. "Of course, I'd be more than happy to accompany you as your date."

Shepard chuckled as he placed a turian kiss on her hand. "Of course."

* * *

**One Week Later…**

Because the distance between Earth and the Citadel was a short one, Garrus and Shepard only had to take a shuttle rather than a ship for the trip. Shepard found herself staring out the window during the fifteen minute ride while Garrus went through a data pad with some information about the reopening ceremony Victus had sent him this morning. At first, Shepard saw nothing but the stars in the distance as well as Luna. Then, the shuttle made a slight turn and the Citadel came into view.

Shepard was just a few minutes away from the station and already it was strange to not see the purple gases surrounding it.

The ride was silent the entire way, and eventually, the shuttle reached Shalta Ward. Shepard got a better look at the ward and saw everything rebuilt, though not quite operational just yet. From what she was told after confirming her attendance to Hackett, citizens will be able to start coming back in right after the reopening ceremony.

It was as though Shalta Ward was back to its former glory. Shepard was able to tell the difference between the new buildings and the ones that survived the war by the architecture used based on modern style. She was able to see a couple of other wards beyond it; they were mostly dark with the exception of the floodlights emitting from them, indicating that there were workers continuing with rebuilding.

However, the one ward that was the most damaged, Tayseri… aside from the floodlights reflecting off the edge of the arm, it was completely dark to the point where it almost blended in with the rest of space. The large piece that was broken off has since been brought back closer and anchored, but it has yet to be reattached.

Soon, the shuttle arrived at their destination and gently landed on a platform before the doors opened. Shepard immediately felt a slight chill coming from the ward and was glad to be wearing her jacket at the moment.

"They must be trying to adjust the temperatures," Garrus mumbled as he helped Shepard up on her feet. "You okay?"

Shepard nodded. "So far so good." She then nodded her head sideways towards the ward. "Shall we?"

Slowly, they both made their way out of the shuttle. They went maybe ten feet before a young, blond-haired Alliance soldier approached them on an electric scooter, which at first confused the two.

The soldier soon stopped the scooter before stepped down from it. Facing Shepard, she stood tall before saluting. "Commander Shepard, I'm Private Burns, I was sent by Admiral Hackett to escort you to the reopening ceremony.

Shepard nodded to her. "At ease, Burns. If I may ask, what's with the scooter?"

Burns seemed to look nervous suddenly, but she managed to speak. "Um… Admiral Hackett wanted to make the trip easier and provided the scooter for you."

Shepard found herself staring at the scooter, not sure whether to feel appreciative or offended. However, the more she thought about it, the more she figured that the idea of a scooter wasn't so bad. Unlike a wheelchair, where you have to sit down, she would still be standing and holding on to the handlebars like a bicycle. Also, she was sure that if she had been in a wheelchair, people would look at her with pity, which was the last thing she needed. At least with a scooter, people would most likely look at her with curiosity.

She eventually nodded and got Garrus to help her up on the scooter. Private Burns gave her a quick lesson on how to use it before Shepard turned to Garrus and managed to grin. "I should get you one of these. Then you can calibrate them to see how fast they go and then we can race each other around the neighborhood."

Garrus laughed at that. "Is that all I'm good for is calibrations?"

Shepard chuckled. "Maybe. You said it yourself, you feel like you say the word all the time."

"Ha, ha."

It took about twenty minutes to get to the embassies, where the ceremony was taking place. Throughout the trip, Shepard found herself liking the scooter a bit more with each passing minute. Although it didn't provide the exercise she preferred, it actually felt good to move a bit faster. She also swore that she felt the wind blowing against her face, which was also pretty nice. The commander didn't miss the curious looks of those who walked by her (and even got a few hellos and thank you on the way), though there was the occasional look of pity and one or two of disdain, which honestly wasn't a surprise to her… but at least the curious looks beat that out by miles.

Soon they reached the auditorium where the ceremony was taking place. Shepard realized that, aside from a few scorch marks, this was most likely one of the buildings that survived the blast. Inside, the architect was similar to that of the Council Chambers in the Citadel Tower with its tall windows with its expansive view of the outside - including the dark Tayseri Ward, Shepard realized – lush trees with green leaves instead of the pink blossoms, and a large fountain in the middle.

Chairs were set up near the stage of the auditorium and that's where she and Garrus headed. An attendant confirmed both of their invitations before sitting them down about five rows from the front.

It wasn't long before many of the universe's leaders took stage and it was Hackett who led the ceremony. Shepard gazed up at the stage, noting the different species joined together. It wasn't just humans, turians, asari, and salarians on the stage… there were also volus, hanar, krogans, quarians, and even the elcors. Shepard was aware of some missing species – like the drell and the batarians… those whose numbers were affected the most in the war - but even with a few missing from the stage, it felt good to see so many joined together and seeing the unity continue in the aftermath.

Most of the time, Shepard would slightly turn her head to gaze out the large window closest to her. Despite the darkness, Shepard could make out a few shapes floating in space, most likely debris. Whether they were formerly part of the Citadel or pieces of lost ships, it was hard to tell.

Briefly, Shepard closed her eyes before she suddenly saw a quick image along with sounds of a gun's trigger being pulled as it released its ammunition. She saw mostly red before an explosion was heard… then flames engulfed her.

Quickly opening her eyes, Shepard felt baffled by the flashback… was this part of the memory that was buried within? She did receive burns after all… they had to come from somewhere.

Soon, Shepard snapped out of her thoughts as the rest of the audience stood up and clapped just before they all slowly began to disperse. This left her more confused.

' _Did the ceremony go that fast or was I really out of it the whole time?_ ' Shepard thought with a frown.

She soon felt Garrus's hand on her shoulder and she turned to him. She didn't miss the concerned look he gave her. "You okay?" he asked.

Shepard managed to nod before an idea came to her. "I was just thinking… is it possible to see Anderson's apartment before we go back to Earth?"

"I'm not sure," Garrus replied. "But let's go say hello to Hackett and Victus before we decide. Maybe they can confirm whether it's safe for us to go to that part of Zakera Ward."

Shepard nodded as he turian helped her to her feet. "Sure."

The two of them eventually met up with Hackett and Victus at separate times. The conversations ended up being brief and it was pretty much about the progress on the other wards. "Still rebuilding," they said.

However, when they were talking to Victus, they inquired about getting access to Zakera Ward to see what was left of Anderson's apartment. Despite the ward still being worked on, Victus would give them clearance depending on the damage.

"What area of Zakera are you looking to get access to?" the Primarch of Palaven asked.

"Tiberius Tower," Shepard mentioned. "It was located close to the Silversun Strip."

Victus nodded. "I'll speak with the leader of the Citadel Recovery Project. He'll be able to tell me if the Silversun Strip is safe to get to. It might take a little time, so I suggest you two get yourselves some lunch in the meantime."

"We appreciate it, Victus," Garrus said.

Soon, the two of them left the auditorium and starting hunting down for a place that was currently serving both levo and dextro meals… but of course, except for a long line of vendors nearby, no other places were open just yet. Garrus eventually found a vendor that served dextro food, so Shepard went over to the stand right next to it that was attended by a volus.

"Greetings Earth clan," the volus greeted cheerfully with a wave of a hand. He took a deep breath before speaking. "What would you like?"

"What do you have?" Shepard asked. Suddenly she regretted asking and wondered how big the menu was.

"I don't have - _chht_ \- quite a lot at the – _chht_ \- moment, but – _chht_ \- I do have the Earth delicacy called – _chht_ \- udon noodles. They – _chht_ \- come in different flavors such as – _chht_ \- beef, chicken, shrimp, - _chht_ \- vegetables – _chht_ \- teriyaki-"

"I'll take teriyaki," Shepard quickly said.

The volus nodded. "- _Chht_ \- Excellent. That will be – _chht_ \- two hundred credits."

Shepard sighed a little at the price, but considering how hungry she was, she decided to deal with it for the time being since she was sure that the Citadel economy needed it. She gave him a chit that equaled to the exact credits and it wasn't long before she received her bowl of udon noodles.

"Have a great – _chht-_ day!" the volus called out.

"You too," Shepard said as she rolled her scooter to the table where Garrus was now sitting. He had a plate of sandwich with some blue thin-sliced meat that reminded her of salami.

"I imagine the Citadel is hard pressed for cash, but this sandwich cost me 350 credits," Garrus sighed. "But then again, I'd like to think we're helping out their economy."

"Same here," Shepard agreed as she carefully sat down. "Even if I am out 200 credits."

For a few minutes, the two were quiet as they focused on eating. For Shepard, the udon noodles were just as she expected; average. However, she had to admit that the teriyaki flavored broth wasn't too bad.

Then again, anything was better than military grade rations.

When Garrus was halfway done with his food, his blue eyes gazed over at Shepard. "You know I realized something… when you asked Victus about going to Zakera Ward, you mentioned wanting to see _Anderson's_ apartment. I thought he gave you the apartment."

Shepard nodded. "He did, but, well… I didn't really have it for very long."

Garrus's mandibles flared into a smile. "True. Even so, you have to admit, we did make a lot of good memories. Maybe when Zakera Ward reopens, if you want to, we can come back and stick around for a bit, kind of like having a second home."

Shepard gazed down at her noodles. "Maybe."

Soon, they were done with their meals and were just about to throw them into the trash bins when a voice called out to them. "It's been a long time, Commander Shepard."

Shepard couldn't help but smile as she turned around to face the person approaching them. Even though Dr. Michel had confirmed his survival a while ago, it still felt good to actually _see_ him alive.

"Commander Bailey!" Shepard called out as the two shook hands. "Yes, it has been a long time. What are you doing here?"

"Well when the Primarch told me who requested access to Zakera Ward," Bailey said. "I took it upon myself to escort you."

"You're the recovery project leader?" Garrus asked.

Bailey nodded, confirming his current position. "Mostly I'm looking over all the projects on the Citadel, but at least I'm able to get my hands dirty since we need all the help with heavy lifting we can get."

Shepard chuckled. "You'd drive yourself crazy otherwise."

Bailey sighed at that. "You're telling me. At least we gain a few new volunteers every week or so, so that's a good thing. We're not in short supply of help here for sure."

Turning around, Bailey waved a hand, indicating the couple to follow him. Shepard activated the scooter and began to follow with Garrus walking alongside her. "To be honest, Zakera Ward is still a mess, but the Silversun Strip isn't too badly damaged. There is some electricity in that area, though it is limited."

"Hopefully the elevator works at the tower," Garrus mentioned.

Bailey chuckled. "They should. They'll just be a bit… slow."

Shepard sighed. "If they were slow before, they must be crawling at this point."

They soon reached Bailey's C-Sec skycar. They took a moment to fold up Shepard's scooter before placing it in the back seat where Garrus also sat. Shepard sat in the front before Bailey got himself in the driver's seat. Closing the doors and starting up the skycar, they soon left the auditorium area and further above Shalta Ward before they drove forward.

"Should take no more than twenty minutes," Bailey announced.

Shepard turned to the C-Sec officer. "Aside from looking over the project, what else have you been up to?" she asked.

Bailey shrugged a little. "That's really all I've been doing. I've been keeping myself busy for the most part." He punched a few commands on the display in front of him before proceeding. "Though I admit, I did try to contact you not too long ago."

Shepard tilted her head at that. "Really?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I saw on the news that you were out of the hospital, but I had been too busy with the Citadel project to swing by for a visit."

"Understandable," Shepard assured him.

"Either way, communications from here to Earth is shitty at best. We usually have to make trips back and forth between here and Earth just to tell them we need more supplies. Not long after the war, I, eh… took a day off to find out what happened to my ex-wife and our kids…"

Shepard turned her head to Bailey after he mentioned that. Although he displayed a neutral face, his eyes said otherwise… and it made her frown. She still remember visiting Bailey in his office a handful of times during the war, and despite being somewhat estranged from them since he and his wife divorced, he had been worried sick for his family.

"… Unfortunately, their names were on the casualty list…"

Shepard turned her attention towards the front window. "I'm sorry, Bailey…"

Bailey shook his head a bit before he spoke again. "The Presidium was shot up, but at this point, we're very close to reopening that area of the Citadel soon."

"Then all the politicians will move right back in and shove their skewed policies down our throats again," Garrus spoke up. That made Bailey chuckle.

Shepard looked down at her hands, realizing that Bailey didn't want to talk about losing his family with the way he changed the subject so quickly. She didn't blame him for that. She could only imagine the guilt and despair he was feeling and it didn't surprise her that he was keeping himself busy with this project. She can also imagine that he would most likely live out the rest of his days here on the station.

Earth would bring him too many reminders…

The three of them ended up talking about the project for the rest of the ride and, before they knew it, Bailey parked the skycar right next to Tiberius Tower. He and Garrus got out of the car before Bailey set up the scooter and Garrus helped Shepard out of the vehicle.

"I have to look over some things while I'm here," Bailey said. "I'll be back to pick you two up in an hour."

Shepard nodded. "That's plenty of time for us. Thank you."

Bailey nodded before he returned to his skycar, shut the door, and then left, the engines being heard until it was too far away to hear it any more.

Once Bailey was gone, Shepard turned her head so that she got a better look at the Silversun Strip. Aside from a few floodlights here and there, it was strange to see the strip so quiet and empty. She remembered it being all lit up and bustling with people and activities, a time that didn't feel all that long ago.

"This is eerie even for me," said Garrus, stating exactly what Shepard was thinking. "I remember this place being all lit up like a laser show just above our heads."

"And the hologram of those trees that were colored pink and blue," Shepard added. "I always thought that was pretty."

They began to head over towards the tower, the front door wide open. "Remember those vorcha hustlers by the Arsenal Arena?" Garrus asked.

Shepard snorted at that memory. "How could I forget? I lost a hundred credits because of them."

Garrus laughed as he shook his head. "I still can't believe you fell for that."

"Well I pretty much won it back at the casino later anyway. Speaking of the casino, remember our dance up at the bar?"

Garrus laughed even more. "How could I forget? It was my idea after all."

"At my own expense considering how you all love to remind me of my dancing 'skills.'"

"Either way, you loved it."

"… I did."

They soon walked through the open doors of the tower and began to head towards the elevator. With the exception of one flickering light, the area was dark. It was not hard to miss the fact that the glass that once house a small furniture store was shattered and whatever items were displayed there were most likely looted.

The two eventually reached the elevator and Garrus pressed the down button. They were able to hear the hum of the elevator coming down from where they stood.

"Well, at least it works," Shepard said. "Now let's see how long it even takes to get to our floor."

"I bet ten minutes," Garrus replied. "Actually, that's too short of a time… more like an hour."

"Very funny."

It only took a minute before the elevator door opened, and the two went in. "Floor six if I remember," Garrus said. Shepard nodded before he pressed the number six. As they expected, the elevator moved at a slow pace for their liking.

After what felt like a minute, Garrus spoke up. "Now all we need is some news reel and – Shepard, are you humming that music that used to always play on the elevator?"

Shepard quickly turned her head, her eyes wide as though she was a deer caught in headlights. She quickly cleared her throat. "Eh… no?"

Garrus laughed. "Yes you were."

"No I wasn't. I was, eh… humming a random tune."

"… Uh huh."

Then the elevator door opened to their floor. Shepard rolled out first with Garrus following closely behind her. Making a quick right turn, they headed to the end of the short hallway where Anderson's apartment was located.

Reaching the door, Shepard outstretched her hand to the control panel. "Hopefully the code still works… if there's electricity running through here to begin with."

"If the elevator works, the door might work too," Garrus said hopefully.

Carefully, Shepard entered the code to the apartment. On the last number, she held her breath as she pressed it down. To her relief, she heard the door's lock click open.

"Oh good," Shepard sighed. She turned gazed up at the turian. "You ready?"

"As long as you are," Garrus said.

Shepard nodded before opening the door. From there, the two walked inside the large apartment. The floodlights outside provided a pretty good light source, so it was easy to see what was left of the living space. Shepard found herself feeling a bit sad over its current state; some of the furniture was overturned, broken pieces of statues were strewn around, and one of the large windows that overlooked the strip was smashed to almost nothing.

Shepard could imagine that this was mostly damage from the Crucible blast.

Carefully stepping off the scooter, Shepard slowly walked her way towards the piano, which was placed to the left of the entry. The grand instrument, to her relief, was still standing upright and looked to be undamaged. Behind her, she heard Garrus follow.

Once she was within reach, Shepard hovered her fingers over the ivory keys before she played a soft, slow tune she had not heard in a long time; the song Liara had taught her not long after Anderson gave her this apartment. She remember Liara spending what felt like hours trying to teach her this song until Shepard got the notes right. Shepard did notice the sound was a little off. More than likely, the piano was going to need tuning.

"I didn't know you played," Garrus said as he stood next to her.

Shepard had to smile. "Actually, Liara taught me this when we were on shore leave. It's the only song I know."

Shepard stopped playing before her eyes drifted towards the rest of the living space. "Honestly, it really didn't feel that long ago when Anderson offered this place. I got a message from Hackett telling me to head over here. From there, I spoke with Anderson and, well… he got straight to the point and told me that he wanted me to have it. 'Take it off my hands,' he said."

Shepard began to walk forward towards the stairs that was next to the wall dividing the bar and the TV room. Garrus walked next to her as he listened to her story. "He said that the more he was on Earth, the less he wanted to leave. He brought the place in hopes that… he and Kahlee Sanders would someday settle down here. I thought maybe the idea of having this place for myself would be temporary, just until the war was over and Anderson and Kahlee would return here and actually retire to this place… at least until Hackett sent me a copy of Anderson's will a few months ago and Anderson passed ownership to me."

Shepard sighed as a thought came to her. "Something tells me… that he knew that he wasn't going to live past the war all that time…"

"Do you think you'd want to keep this place when Zakera Ward reopens?" Garrus asked just as they were reaching the stairs.

The commander gazed at her surroundings for a moment before answering. "You know, I've been debating on that for a while." She laughed a little. "A part of thinks it would be pretty cool to have four places around the universe for ourselves; our cabin on Earth, maybe a place on Palaven, here on the Citadel, and, well… when the time comes, maybe we can get a place on Nevos like EDI suggested. At least then, we'll have at least one place that's warm and tropical.

"At the same time, in the back of my mind, I know there are a lot of displaced families out there in the universe still in refugee camps. I'm thinking I could make a decision once this ward reopens."

"That'll be a while according to Bailey," Garrus reminded her.

Shepard nodded. "That'll give me plenty of time to think it over."

She then began to reach the stair's banister, but before she even tried to grasp it, she found herself gasping in surprise as Garrus lifted her up from the ground, one arm resting on her back while the other was under her knees. It didn't take long for the both of them to smile at each other as Garrus carried Shepard up the stairs.

For a good while, the two of them talked about the good times they had during their week-long shore leave. The many conversations they shared with their friends in the sitting room upstairs, Samara meditating under the small tree nearby, Kasumi cloaking and sneaking around, that one creepy moment when Shepard found Javik hung over in her bathroom the morning after their party, the poker game between Liara, Vega, Javik, and Kasumi, Tali convincing Shepard to view her favorite vid, ' _Fleet and Flotilla,_ ' Kaidan's cooking, and Jack visiting with her varren, Eezo as well as giving Shepard her blue wings tattoo.

There was also watching biotiball with Cortez and Vega, EDI assisting with shopping for items for each crew, the group debating on which of the two Normandys was the best, Grunt's appetite during the party, and of course, Garrus and Zaeed trying to devise a plan to make the apartment more safe.

The last room they went to was the office, which contained a small bar, a poker table, a fireplace, and a large desk. There, Shepard retrieved two items that managed to survive the blast; Traynor's trophy from her win in the Kapeshi-Yakshi tournament, and the volus plushie Shepard won in a claw game at the arcade (and secretly named him 'Binnie' randomly).

As they began their leave, Shepard gazed at the windows, remembering the red glow that would emit from there. It was the kind of red, she realized, that reminded her of the vision she had during the reopening ceremony earlier today.

It was the only thing she could remember as of now since coming on to the Citadel; the shooting gun, the red, and the explosion. Needless to say, it frustrated her, but the truth was… did she really want to know what really happened? Would she really want to know whether or not she truly was responsible for the destruction of the Geth?

Perhaps time will tell… or perhaps she will never remember what happened that day.

As she and Garrus reached the door, Shepard turned around and gazed at the apartment one last time. Rather than remember the darkness and the small destruction, she fondly remembered the good times she shared here with Garrus and their friends.

Then, she gently closed the door behind her.


	21. Christmas

Sitting in the living room, Shepard found herself humming, ' _Jingle Bells_ ,' while wrapping up some presents with various different colors of wrapping paper. The coffee table she was using was covered with assorted items aside from the paper; scissors, tape, ribbons, bows, and a few other gifts that still needed to be wrapped. Those that were ready to go were placed next to Shepard on the couch. Somewhere on the floor nearby, her cat Felix was playing around with a piece of wrapping paper she spared to keep him distracted.

Outside, though the sky was clear and blue, a blanket of white snow covered the ground. Small icicles formed on the edge of the roof of their house as well as their nearby tree, the sun giving it a glittery, multi-colored shimmer like a glass menagerie. The lake was covered with a sheet of ice and on the edge of it across the way, Shepard could see a small group ice skating and enjoying the beauty of winter.

After wrapping the latest present, Shepard grabbed a piece of paper and checked off her list of presents that were ready to go. Earlier in December, she had already sent off her gifts to her Normandy crew and Garrus' family (though there was a long explanation about the human tradition of Christmas, but the Vakarians appreciated the gesture in the end). She was now getting the presents ready for her neighbors; her next-door neighbors, Meela and Trey, her physical therapist Cyrena and her husband Jason, Mr. Holden the housing organizer for the refugees (a project which, of course, is currently on hold due to the weather), and a few other she got to know since moving here months ago.

At the corner of the living room just a few feet to the right of the fireplace in front of Shepard was, of course, a large green Christmas tree. Though it was artificial, it was the kind that emitted the smell of fresh pine in the living room and it also came with multi-colored light bulbs attached to the branches. Hanging off the branches were various different ornaments of all kinds of shapes and colors. Near the top, Garrus even found an ornament of the Normandy to hang up. On the very top of the tree, rather than the traditional star or angel, Shepard used the head of a fuzzy, smiling snowman with a carrot for a nose, rosy cheeks, coal eyes, and wearing a black top hat.

Underneath the tree on top of the red and white tree skirt were a mix of both Shepard's and Garrus' presents lying out and ready to be open on Christmas morning, which was a few days for now. They did have one special agenda today; on the sofa to Shepard's right was a large pile of some of the blankets and presents that she and Garrus were to deliver to the Syracuse refugee camp. Throughout the first couple of weeks of December, Mr. Holden had organized a toy and blanket drive for those in this community and the surrounding neighborhood to provide either one toy or one blanket for the children who were still stuck at the camp long after the end of the war.

Sometime during the drive, Shepard and Garrus had volunteered to deliver the items to the camp. The donations had since reached its deadline and were promptly delivered to the Shepard-Vakarian household a few days ago. Shepard took it upon herself to wrap all the toy presents to make it extra special for the kids. The blankets were of various kinds, colors, and patterns. Shepard even noticed that a few of them were even hand crafted. Also, with their own money, Shepard and Garrus brought a large stockpile of instant hot cocoa that was of both levo and dextro, hoping it would be another way to keep the refugees warm.

' _Hopefully, many of them will finally have a proper roof over their heads by next year,'_ Shepard thought with a small frown.

And last night, Shepard placed a particular datapad in her tote bag, having an idea she hoped the children there would enjoy.

After wrapping the last present, she heard Garrus come out of the bedroom before he closed the door behind him. He soon appeared from the short hallway and into the living room, giving Shepard a full view of the gear he was wearing; a two-piece black thermal jacket and pants thick enough to look like he had more weight on him, black snow boots made for turian feet, black fleece gloves with leather tips that covered the talons, and a pair of googles that were currently resting on his forehead. The jacket he was ready contained a hoodie that was shaped for turian fringes and, even though he was still inside, he already had it pulled up.

"The hamster's all fed," Garrus announced as he began to wrap a dark blue knitted scarf around his neck. "We just need to pack up the donations in the car and then we'll head off."

He turned his head and noticed the peculiar look on his love's face. The turian knew why she was giving him that look, but even so, he was still obliged to ask, "What?"

Shepard had to smile. "You look like you're about ready to climb Mount Everest," she pointed out.

Garrus sighed as he finished wrapping the scarf around him. "Well, I keep wondering how you humans can even stand this weather."

"We're pretty well known for our adaptability."

"Still doesn't make me feel better."

Shepard shrugged before she looked over at the donations on the sofa. "Well come on, let's get this all in the car. I'll get the blankets and hot cocoa, you get the toys."

"Sure thing."

It took almost an hour to pack everything in the trunk, back seats, and the overhead bin attached to the vehicle, but once they were done, they locked up the house, got in their seats in the skycar, and soon were making their way to the Syracuse refugee camp, which was about a one hour drive.

For the first few minutes of the ride, Shepard was singing along to the radio, which was playing old human Christmas songs while Garrus was driving. The first one that played was, _'Last Christmas_ ,' a 200 year old song by a duo pop band (as the radio described it), and the second was an even older song called, ' _White Christmas_ ,' which was sung by what Garrus heard was by some guy named Crosby… or was it Cosby?

When the commercials began playing, a thought came to Garrus and he began to speak. "Hey Shepard, I was wondering about something."

"About what?" Shepard asked.

"It's something I've been hearing a lot since the day after that turkey feast we had nearly a month ago and I haven't really heard an answer yet. That, or I just haven't really paid as much attention as I should."

"And that is…?"

Garrus took a deep breath. "What is the meaning of Christmas? I mean, the way I'm seeing it now, it seems to be about giving and receiving presents and spending as much credits as possible for all the people you know. It feels like, what's the word… a holiday of commercialism."

Shepard nodded. "I know what you mean, and believe it not, there are humans out there who are trying to understand it as much as you are. They only see what it seems to be portrayed as; commercialism, and that, to me, is such a shame considering."

"Then I can assume it's more than just giving and receiving presents then."

"Definitely, and you know what? I think showing you is the best way to answer that question. Hopefully you'll get your answer by the time we leave the camp today."

Garrus shrugged at that. "We'll see then."

Soon enough, the two of them arrived at the Syracuse refugee camp. The camp itself was located inside a college stadium, which survived the war (unlike, sadly, most other parts of the campus). Though the stadium had a covering that protected the refugees and the volunteers from the elements of the weather, there was only so much that could be done to generate heat. Shepard felt the slight chill when she entered the stadium.

As soon as they arrived, the volunteers greeted the couple and began to help unload the wrapped gifts and blankets. One asari volunteer spoke up. "The amount of donations we've been getting all over has been astounding," she mentioned. "And many other camps around Earth have been getting the same treatment."

Hearing that made Shepard smile warmly and in her heart, she really hoped that every child across the globe in refugee camps received at least one gift for the holiday season. At least here in this camp, she was sure that every child here would get at least one present to lighten these dark times.

She and Garrus began assisting with distributing the gifts and blankets around the camp. Of course, it didn't take very long for the refugees to figure out that the two heroes were here. Many of them already knew Garrus since he had visited here on more than one occasion, but this was Shepard's first visit here, and to know that she came today seemed to lift everyone's spirits.

It always astonished Shepard that, just by being somewhere, it would get the attention of those who knew her name or just her face, apparently a symbol of her heroics during the war. After all, to Shepard, she was just a soldier trying to see an end to a war she saw coming three years prior to its beginning.

But if her presence here meant that the refugees' morale would be lifted, even for a little while, then that in itself made it worth it. It suddenly didn't matter if her own injuries prevented her from helping more than she could. As much as she wanted to physically help with more than just passing donations and heating up water for hot cocoa, and as much as she'd rather get her hands dirty in the community housing project, seeing the hopeful look on the faces of those who had lost that hope before by just saying hello and giving them that moment of normalcy, well… it made her own problems seem so small.

Shepard had done the toughest jobs for anyone in the galaxy. Although things could still be grim, and although there were still those who were anger with her for various reasons, there were still many who were grateful for her efforts even if she can no longer hold a gun and protect those she swore to keep safe so long ago. It was the kind of reminder she would always need, perhaps for the remainder of her life.

Shepard and Garrus spent a few hours at the camp before Shepard convinced a few volunteers to gather all the children for what Shepard called 'story time.' While they waited, Shepard was seated on a metal bench, using a pillow to make herself more comfortable, and pulled out the datapad she packed in her tote bag for the trip.

It took a little while, but soon the children were all gathered together. Most were humans, but there were also turian, asari, salarian, a few quarians, a couple of volus and batarians, and Shepard even spotted one young elcor who settled himself in the back, his parent standing behind him.

The asari volunteer Shepard spoke to earlier told the children that Shepard was going to be reading them a story, and seeing the happy look on their faces warmed her own spirits.

"This is a human story," Shepard said to them. "Have most of you heard of Santa Claus or Old Saint Nick?"

Most of the children nodded before Shepard continued. "If you haven't, I'll tell you all about him in this little old story called, ' _Twas the Night before Christmas_ by Clement Clark Moore _._ '" She activated the datapad before she began reading out loud. "Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse!"

While Shepard was reading, Garrus turned his head to the children, who listened with the story with either astonishment or wide-eyed curiosity (especially from the non-humans). He was sure that the kids would be asking a lot of questions by the end of the story, but he couldn't help but grin when he saw the excitement in their faces when Shepard got to the part about 'Old Saint Nick.'

Of course, as he expected, many of the children were asking questions left and right and Shepard answered each of them as best she could. Once that was done, Shepard and Garrus decided to make their departure, saying their farewells to everyone they ran into before heading back to their skycar.

A few minutes after leaving, Garrus spoke up. "The media is going to have a field day over your story time reading," he mentioned.

Shepard let out an exasperated sigh. "You know they'll either ignore it or twist it to make it look like a controversy. Honestly though, it'll most likely be the former."

"If they do ignore it, it's probably because of their 'top news story' like the one I read in _The Ceapa_ the other day," Garrus said. "And that was; _Diplomat Admits Having a Child With a Goldfish_.'"

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. "… Isn't _The Ceapa_ basically the turian version of _World Weekly News, The Second_ with all its hilarious fake news reportings?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point," Garrus said.

Shepard laughed. "I hate to admit it, but it's also hard to imagine turians even having a humor news source."

"Hey, we turians are not all stoic hard-asses," Garrus pointed out. "You know that I'm the best proof of that."

Shepard grinned at that. "That I do."

* * *

**Christmas Morning**

The sun outside was barely rising when Shepard and Garrus got out of bed and headed into the living room to open their presents. Shepard sat on the couch while Garrus sat on the floor, pushing the coffee table out of the way so that he had more room. They each opened their presents, tearing the wrapping paper apart and scattering them on the floor. The present themselves, ranging from clothes to weapons mods, from old books to random objects they found on the extranet.

Even Felix and the hamster each got a Christmas present; a six feet tall kitty condo for Felix (though he was definitely more interested in the discarded wrapping paper at the moment), and a bigger, new cage for the hamster, which Garrus planned to set up later in the day.

At one point, Garrus opened one box and pulled out the item inside. He raised his browplates as he noticed the item that was clearly made for a turian judging by the width of the collar; a red knitted sweater with patterns going horizontally in each row; Christmas trees, snowflakes, reindeers, and a pair of green and yellow bells.

Garrus gave him a confused look. "I hate to ask but… what kind of sweater is this?"

Shepard chuckled at his reaction, especially since she really got the sweater for him as a joke. "Hey, it could be worse big guy. I'll show you when we watch _A Christmas Story_ later."

"I assume then that the movie features one ugly sweater then?"

"Let's just say that it's one big pink nightmare."

It wasn't long before they reached the last two presents, one for each of them. Shepard encouraged Garrus to open his first. Unwrapping his present, it revealed a gun case. Upon opening the case, his blue eyes widened upon seeing what was inside.

"This is the 2088 Widow Sniper Rifle," Garrus said, his subharmonics barely containing his excitement.

"It even comes with additional upgrades I modified a couple of weeks ago," Shepard mentioned. She couldn't help the grin on her face, knowing that he had been looking forward to buying the latest model of his favorite sniper rifle.

Garrus placed the case down before he moved to sit down next to Shepard. From there, he pressed his mouthplates against her temple. "Thank you. This is a great gift."

"I'm glad you like it," Shepard replied.

Garrus then reached down and gave Shepard her last gift. "Now it's your turn. It's not a gun, of course, but I hope you like it."

Shepard took the small present in her hand before she began opening it, revealing a black velvet case. She figured that it was jewelry even before opening the box, but the moment she saw it, she found herself in awe at its beauty. Inside was a silver bracelet with a row of dark blue stones, and each one shimmered in the light of the living room.

"Garrus, it's beautiful," she said.

Garrus reached over and took the bracelet out of the case. "The blue stones are from the caves of Palaven. We call them _safir_."

Shepard smiled at that. "That sounds like the stones we have here, sapphire, which incidentally is the same color."

Garrus chuckled. "Guess we turians do have more things in common with humans than we realized."

From there, Garrus helped Shepard place the bracelet over her left wrist, which was a little harder since the clasp was smaller than he was used to. With Shepard's help, they soon managed to get the clasp to connect, and Shepard found herself admiring the bracelet. For years, the only jewelry she wore was her dog tags, but she had a feeling that after today, she'll be wearing this bracelet more often.

When that was done, Garrus leaned back on the couch. "You know, I don't think I ever told you that I actually figured out the true meaning of Christmas."

"Hmm, I forgot about that," Shepard said. She turned her head to him. "So what did you learn, Mr. Vakarian?"

Garrus wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer to him before replying. "That it's not about the giving and receiving, and it's most definitely not about the commercialism."

"Far from it," Shepard pointed out.

"I know that now," Garrus replied. "But what I learned especially in these past few days is that Christmas is basically about the love and joy you feel and see in others… which really, that's something we should be seeing every single day."

Shepard leaned towards him to leave a kiss on her mandible. "That's exactly why I love this time of year… because of those reminders."

Garrus nodded. "There's something else I learned, too."

"And that is…"

"Things may get rough and we'll always have our ups and downs, but it's always nice to be reminded of what truly matters."

Shepard smiled as she leaned close to her turian. "Merry Christmas, Garrus."

"Merry Christmas, Shepard."


	22. The Lone Turian

The visit to the Citadel occurred not long before Christmas. Garrus had wondered beforehand how the visit would have affected Shepard. After all, it was the place where she took her last stand against the Reapers during the war, and it was the place where her she was found about a week later. The only thing she mentioned was a flashback of 'something red' and an explosion after hearing gunshots. She figured that whatever the explosion was, it had something to do with the burns she received.

Nothing about the trip was brought up again once the Holidays rolled around since that was what Shepard was mainly focused on. Christmas especially had her in a good mood throughout the human month of December.

However, once they rang in the year 2188, Shepard's high spirits seemed to wane. For the last few days, her mood had been mostly somber. When Garrus first brought his concerns, Shepard had assured him that she was just tired. He believed her for the first two days, but on the third day, he was starting to become concerned for her mood.

So when he did finally talk to her one morning and didn't believe that she was tired, Shepard took a deep breath before answering. "Well, the thing is that, well, I can't explain it."

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked, clearly confused.

"Well, I've just been feeling, well, crummy for the last couple of days. I'm not like really depressed or anything, but I don't exactly feel upbeat either."

"Could it have something to do with our trip to the Citadel?" Garrus guessed.

Shepard shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's something I need to think on. I'll let you know if I figure it out."

Garrus could only nod in reply. He wanted to help her somehow, but if even Shepard couldn't figure out why she was in this kind of mood, then there was nothing that he could do, at least not right now.

For a couple of days after that conversation, the two of them went on with their normal routine. Garrus mainly worked in the garage filling mod orders for neighbors and those living outside the town while Shepard focused on the community housing project which currently involved measurements and blue prints of the future homes. The actual construction would begin in the spring as soon as the snow thawed.

One morning, Shepard had decided to take a bath. Garrus didn't get out of bed right away and decided to spend the morning checking his messages. One message came from Solana, who mentioned that she was going to the doctor for a check-up because 'she was feeling lousy,' but it was nothing to be concerned about. Even with her assurance, it still made Garrus's mandibles twitch as he wondered what was going on.

As soon as Garrus closed his account, he heard a loud crash from the master bathroom followed by a loud splash of water. Garrus quickly realized that Shepard had slipped in the tub and he practically flew out of the bed before he entered the bathroom.

Shepard was still in the tub and had both of her hands above the water as she tried to reach for the handle bar connected to the white tiled wall. Garrus had bolted the bar there when they first moved in to help Shepard with getting in and out of the tub. A large amount of water has splashed onto the white tiled floor next to the white tub.

Garrus stepped towards the tub before he pulled Shepard from the water, lifting her out before setting her down on the closed toilet seat. During the transfer, Shepard coughed a bit as she tried to get rid of the water that managed to seep into her lungs. She then took a few deep breaths once she was sitting down.

"Are you all right?" Garrus asked with concern.

Shepard shrugged before replying. "Note to self; drain the tub before getting out."

"I'll help dry you off." Garrus then began to stand up, and he was a bit surprised when Shepard didn't protest against his suggestion. Still, he went to the linen closet and grabbed a beige towel before kneeling down next to her.

For a couple of minutes, he patted her skin dry with the towel, and Shepard let him, her face indicating that her mind was clearly somewhere else at the moment. Eventually, she raised her right hand and Garrus saw her fingers grazing over her right leg, focusing on her surgical scars.

Finally Shepard spoke in a whisper. "All these bolts and rods beyond this skin holding me together… it really makes me wonder if I really ever will walk normally again."

Garrus stopped what he was doing after she said that. It seemed as though Shepard figured out what was bothering her, and it was something that she hadn't brought up in a long while; her injuries. There was so much going on these last few months and Garrus now could guess that the events had kept her mind busy, keeping her from thinking about her limited mobility. Heck, she was even in good humor when that one soldier on the Citadel provided a scooter for her to make moving around the ward easier.

"I know it's difficult," Garrus replied. "But as we both always said, it's a miracle that you can even walk at all."

"I know," Shepard said. "But I can only think that positive for so long."

"I know, but you have to remember, a recovery like this takes time."

"But for how long? And remember, I may actually never recover from this…"

"You can always try those artificial bones Dr. Michel suggested when we visited her in Geneva."

"She also said that the procedure might not work and that it could make my situation worse if my body rejects them," Shepard reminded him. She then frowned as her eyes gazed at the turian. "Garrus… sometimes, I wonder if it's better if you went back to Palaven. I hate that you're taking on this burden."

Garrus wasn't sure why, but somehow, that suggestion hurt him. He covered Shepard with the towel before standing up, his blue eyes gazing down at her. He then folded his arms in front of his chest before he spoke again.

"Shepard," he started with his voice low and subharmonics vibrating. "Was that suggestion _really_ necessary?"

Shepard's eyes furrowed with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You think I spent all these months with you out of some obligation and not for my love for you?"

Now Shepard realized what he meant and her jaw dropped in surprise. She quickly regained herself before replying. "Garrus Vakarian that was _not_ what I mean?"

"What does it mean then?"

Shepard spoke as she began to stand up, using the sink next to the toilet for leverage. "It _means_ that if you really want to go back to Palaven, with your family, I will not stop you. To be honest, we haven't really communicated too much about how you feel about taking care of me lately, so sorry if I had to bring it up!"

"There's a human saying I remember hearing a while ago," Garrus responded. "Action speaks fonder than words. I thought maybe me helping you around would show that!"

"It would be nice to actually hear how you feel about it too once in a while. And it's _louder_ than words, not fonder!"

"Close enough if my translator is anything go by! You humans have confusing sayings so sorry if I mixed a word up!"

"And turians are known for following orders without question most of the time, so I'm trying to make sure that you're not following your instincts since I _was_ your commander!"

"So now we're going to bring race into this?"

"You brought it up first!" Shepard pointed out.

Not wanting to continue the argument, Garrus raised both arms in defeat before he began stomping out of the bathroom. "I'm going in the garage to work!"

"Fine!"

" _Fine!"_

Eventually, Shepard heard the bedroom door slam behind Garrus. Taking a deep breath, Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, trying to calm herself down after that argument. ..

**Later That Night…**

The effects of Shepard and Garrus' morning argument still lingered between them by the time the sun set for the day. After working all day in the garage, Garrus needed a drink, but currently they were out of both dextro and dual chirality alcohol. So he decided that it was the best excuse to go to Main Street and stop at the bar. And since Shepard didn't seem to plan to make dinner at the moment, he decided to get something to eat there while he was at it.

Shepard was in the living room with Felix lying next to her on the couch. Her focus was on the TV, and Garrus was at least glad that it wasn't playing the news. As of late, he really hated it when she watched the news since it seemed to put her in an even worse mood.

Before he left, Garrus figured it at least wouldn't hurt to ask her to come with him. Maybe she's cooled off since this morning…

"I'm going to the town bar if you want to come," Garrus said to Shepard as he reached the front door. When she didn't reply right away, the turian turned his head to where she sat. Her arms were folded in front of her and her eyes were clearly focused on the TV show she was currently watching.

Nope… she was still mad. And maybe it was a good thing… they could both use the evening to themselves.

With that, Garrus stepped out of the house, locking the door behind him. On his way to the skycar, he activating his omni-tool and shut off his incoming calls and message alerts. He decided that, until he got home, he didn't want to be bothered. Soon, he got into the vehicle, started it up, and began the short trip to Main Street.

A half hour later, Garrus was sitting at the bar, still drinking his first bottle of imported danorian beer. In front of him was also a small bowl of dual chirality pretzels which he barely ate since they were the stalest things he had ever had the 'pleasure' of eating. He decided to get something at the dextro market before going home.

There weren't too many people in the bar, and Garrus didn't pay attention to who was there. One small group was playing pool on the other side of the bar, and Garrus could hear an old human song playing in the background… something about 'don't stop believing' and 'holding on to some feeling' or something like that.

Garrus was just about to take another sip when he suddenly heard the smashing sound of shattering glass to his left. Turning his head, he saw a small group of people backing up as another turian dressed in black and red armor lifted up a bar stool and threw it across the room, knocking down an empty table nearby.

"Come on!" the turian yelled out, his voice slightly slurred. "All I wanted was another drink! Why can't I have another drink?!"

The human bartender shook his head. "I told you, sir, you've had enough! Now go home before I have you kicked out."

"What home?!" the turian asked as his unfocused eyes glared at the human. "I haven't been home in months! I've been… stuck _here_ on this planet ever since… since…"

Garrus placed down his drink as he figured out this turian's situation; he had been a soldier who was one of many who followed the Normandy to meet the Reapers head on in the final battle. And somehow, he had been stuck on Earth for more than a year and was clearly affected by the aftermath of the war.

Garrus realized that he couldn't just leave this bar without at least trying to see if he could help him.

The lone turian spoke again, this time more somber. "I just wanna… wanna…" Then he passed out on the floor.

Garrus sighed before he stood up and walked over to the turian. He heard the bartender spoke. "I don't know who he is, but something tells me that he's had it rough since the war ended."

"How much did he drink?" Garrus asked.

"All he had was a pint of ryncol," the bartender replied. "I warned him against it, but he told me that he could handle it. Clearly, he can't. I'm surprised he didn't pass out sooner. He owes me twenty credits for the broken glass, however."

Garrus immediately pulled out a credit chit worth thirty credits and placed it on the table. "That should cover is as well as a tip between him and I. I'll take him somewhere safe in the meantime."

"Okay," the bartender nodded as he took the chit.

A couple of the patrons helped Garrus get the turian in his car, and Garrus thanked them before he went on his way. Normally, Garrus would have taken the stranger straight to his house, but quickly decided that it wasn't the best thing to do. Who knows what kind of turian the stranger was… he could actually be scum for all he knew.

So instead, Garrus took him to the town motel, paying for a one night stay in a room. Garrus settled him on the bed before deciding to make a quick trip to the dextro market, buying a couple of pre-made sandwiches, a cup of kava, and hang over pills before returning to the room. He placed the items on the nightstand and was just beginning to leave when he heard a moan and some movement. Garrus took a deep breath as he realized that the stranger had awakened.

"What the… where am I?" the lone turian asked, his voice groggy from his nap.

Garrus turned to the stranger. "You passed out at the nearby bar," he explained. "I took you here so you had a place to recover overnight, and there's some food and hangover pills next to you if you need it. It's all paid for, but the motel stay is for one night only, so you'll have to leave here in the morning."

Garrus was able to get a good look at the turian's face this time. He had grayish-beige plates on dark brown skin, his markings only on his fringes in black stripes. That told Garrus that he was from a northern region of Palaven.

The turian soon noticed the food on the nightstand and immediately grabbed for it. He took a couple of bites of the sandwich before he spoke again. "Wow… I haven't had _slanina_ in a while. Though I imagine this is not as fresh as what you can get on Palaven."

"Definitely not," Garrus agreed.

The turian gazed up at him briefly. "You know… it's nice to speak to a fellow turian for once. I can't remember the last time I spoke with one."

"Well, there isn't too many of us around here," Garrus mentioned. "There's only about fifteen of us in this town alone. Shockingly, we actually outnumber the asari here."

The turian chuckled at that. "That'd be more impressive if we outnumbered the humans here in this town since this is their homeworld."

Garrus nodded. "True."

"How did you end up here?"

"I chose to live here," Garrus replied. "I'm in a committed relationship with a human."

Garrus wondered if the turian would say something racist in that moment, but to his surprise, a solemn look appeared on his face before he spoke more quietly. "That's nice," he said. "Wish I can say the same."

"What makes you say that?" Garrus asked curiously, hoping that he wasn't prying in too much.

The turian took a few bites of his sandwich before he proceeded. "During the war, I served on a ship similar to the one run by that one Commander… Shepard I think… anyway, it was mostly human, but there were a couple of turians and our doctor was an asari."

"What's your name?" Garrus questioned.

The turian cleared his throat. "I'm the former Corporal Hytus. And you are…"

"Vakarian."

Hytus nodded, seemingly unfamiliar with that name. "Our ship was part of the final attack on Earth and half of us were part of Team Hammer. Me and my human superior, Captain Lin, were on that team."

Garrus shook his head at that, having a feeling on where this was going. So many of those who were on Team Hammer had died during their pursuit to the Citadel beam. Half the team died before they even had the chance to meet at the main base. In the end of it all, only seven percent of Team Hammer survived overall, including himself, Shepard, and Tali. Hytus, obviously, was part of that seven percent.

"We both made it to the beam run, but, well…" Hytus reached his right hand to his left hand and pulled back his black glove, revealing an artificial hand. "The rest of my arm just above the elbow didn't look so good either. That Reaper shot it off and I almost bled to death. Captain Lin went to help me, but… the Reaper got her. One second she was there, and in the next… she was gone…

"In the end, I was the sole survivor of my ship. My other teammates died during the run and our ship was decimated during the battle above Earth. I received my treatment here, but after I was released from the hospital, I've been stuck here. I can't afford to go back to Palaven. My brother is still there, but he's stuck in a refugee camp so he can't help either."

Hytus seemed to gaze his green eyes at his surroundings before a growl escaped his throat. "I hate it here. It's nothing against the humans, don't get me wrong… but there's too many reminders… especially of Lin. I… I wanted to visit her home… she was from this city called Hong Kong, but I hear the damage is just as bad as London… maybe not as bad, but if it's like London… I don't want that reminder any more than I need to… I just want to go home… to Palaven…"

Garrus's mandibles twitched as he was able to hear the mournful subharmonics in Hytus's throat whenever he brought up Lin. It was clear to Garrus… Hytus had been in love with his captain at the time of her death. The more Hytus talked, the more Garrus saw what _could've_ happened had Shepard not survive the war… mournful, hating being here on Earth, missing her so much… Garrus was sure he would've found his way home to Cipritine much sooner than Hytus, but he would still be mourning for a long time…

Suddenly, Garrus wanted to go home, hold Shepard in his arms, and never let her go. He also wished that the two of them didn't fight this morning.

Eventually, Hytus fell asleep before he even had the chance to finish his sandwich. Garrus wrapped up the sandwich and placed it back on the nightstand. He then activated his omni-tool and brought Hytus a one-way ticket home to Palaven. Garrus sent the ticket electronically through Hytus' omni-tool before leaving a short message with it;

_This ticket is a one-way trip to Palaven from Syracuse Spaceport, which leaves in two days. I hope from this day forward that things get better for you._

Garrus then left the motel room, deciding to head straight home. Perhaps it was good that he and Shepard did fight this morning… because then, he would've never met Hytus and heard his story… and Hytus would've been on Earth even longer, haunted by memories of the war and the woman he loved and lost.

The lights were still on when Garrus got home, and he realized how late he was out… well, it wasn't _that_ late, but he was gone longer than he intended. So when he entered the cabin, he wasn't surprised to see Shepard not too far from the door, her face scowled in annoyance.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Shepard called out as she began to meet him at the door despite her injuries slowing her down. "I've been trying to-"

She suddenly stopped speaking as Garrus quickly stepped forward and gathered her in his arms and held her close to him. She was a bit surprised at first, but it only took a couple of seconds for her to respond. She wrapped her own arms around him before burying her face into his shoulder.

"You okay?" Shepard asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah," Garrus replied. "Listen, Shepard… I'm sorry we fought today. I didn't mean to assume you questioning my love for you. I really do love you and I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"I'm sorry too," Shepard mentioned. "I shouldn't have pushed the issue like that. I know you love me, and I love you too. I'm just so frustrated with my recovery and I ended up taking it out on you."

"I know," Garrus said. "But as I've always said, we'll get through it."

Shepard then pulled back a bit before she gazed up at him. "By the way, did you have your omni-tool alerts turned off while you were out?"

Garrus nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, that explains why I couldn't contact you…"

Garrus tilted his head. "Why?"

"Your sister was trying to contact you for an hour. She finally contacted me. I told her to just send you a message and I would talk to you when you got home."

That was when Garrus remember Solana's message from earlier that morning involving a doctor appointment. His eyes widened with a bit of worry. "Is something wrong?"

Shepard's eyes seemed to glow and he could tell that she was trying to hold back a smile. "You'll have to read her message and find out."

Shepard then went back to the couch as Garrus opened up his omni-tool and went to his message box. He soon noticed the one from his sister. He then sat down on the armchair before reading the message;

_Garrus,_

_I'm seriously going to kill you for not answering my vid calls. I finally had to contact Shepard and she suggested I write this. By the way, she got to find out what I'm about to tell you first. That's my little revenge._

_Remember that doctor appointment I mentioned in my last message? I know you saw it because I have an alert that tells me when you open up my messages on your end. Anyway, I got back home a few hours ago. Guess what? You're going to be an uncle. I'm not that far along at the moment, but as you can imagine, Dad is absolutely thrilled that he's going to be a grandfather._

_I hope you get this message before the baby is born…_

_Solana_

_PS – You're not allowed to kill Xarius just because he happens to be the father. I still remember when you almost beat up that guy at my boot camp just for staring at me the wrong way!_

"Wow," was the first thing that Garrus said once the implication of his sister becoming a mother dawned on him.

"In a time like this, male humans would say that they were going to be a monkey's uncle… though in your case, you're going to be a pyjak's uncle."

Garrus was clearly confused by that. "What the hell does that mean?"

Shepard laughed. "Nevermind." Her face then turned serious. "But hearing this news, it… reminded me again what I fought for. I said it before the beam run… every mother, every son, every unborn child…" Shepard took a deep breath. "It's easy to forget the good when you find yourself thinking of the bad."

Before he came home, Garrus wondered if he should tell Shepard about what happened tonight with the lone turian, Hytus. However, with the conversation they were having now, he decided not to share this story tonight. Someday, he will.

"It's easy to forget how much worse things could be for us," Shepard added.

Garrus nodded. "True… very true…"

* * *

Just over a week later, Garrus received a message on his omni-tool;

_Hello,_

_I'm not sure if you are the right Vakarian, but you helped me on Earth about a week ago and bought me a ticket home to Palaven. I just wanted to write to you and thank you for your kindness. These last two years haven't been easy as you can imagine. I still have a rough road ahead, but at least now, I can start moving on. The pain will most likely remain with me for a long time, and I'll always miss Lin, but for once, I remained sober long enough to realized that she would have wanted me to try to move on with my life. This will be the first time where I'll actually try, if not for me, then at least for her._

_I reunited with my brother at the refugee camp he was staying in and that's where I'll remain until we can both find jobs on Palaven. Again, thank you for helping me get home. At least now, I can start rebuilding my life._

_-Aerian Hytus_


	23. Home Defense: The Zaeed Edition

In the middle of the night, a long banging sound was heard, immediately waking up both Shepard and Garrus in the middle of their sleep. Both of them ended up gazing at the ceiling above them as they tried to hear the noise again. However, for the next few seconds, nothing else was heard.

"Garrus?" Shepard whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," Garrus replied.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know… maybe Felix knocked something over in the living room."

"Hrmm… you might be right."

That was when they heard the banging noise again, making both of their eyes widen in surprise. Garrus sat up a bit as he began to look around the room, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

"I… don't think that's Felix," Garrus said. "Could be… what do you call those little rodents…?"

"… Rodents?" Shepard repeated with a little amusement.

"No, no… the one with those fluffy tails that climb up on trees."

"Squirrels?"

"That was it," Garrus remembered. "Maybe it's one of those."

"Hmm," Shepard hummed. "That's possible since we have that new doorway installed for Felix. I told you to get one of those keys to put on his collar so that only Felix gets in and out."

"I told you I forgot to get one," Garrus said. "I'll take care of it this weekend."

That was when they heard the banging sound once more… and this time, it sounded more consistent… like footsteps.

Shepard took a deep breath. "Garrus?"

"Yeah?" the turian answered.

"… I don't think that was a squirrel… or Felix."

Quickly, Garrus got out of bed. Pulling the draw of his nightstand, he immediately pulled out an M-5 Phalanx. On her side of the bed, Shepard pulled out an M-77 Paladin. Both of them checked to make sure that it was still loaded, which they were.

"I swear, if it really did turn out to be Felix… or a squirrel, I'm going to be very irritated," Garrus stated.

"In that case, I'd rather be irritated," Shepard pointed out.

"True," Garrus shrugged. He then began to leave the room, but not before saying, "I won't be long."

Being very quiet, Garrus first checked out the guest room and the spare bedroom, but found that all was well. He then went in to check the hallway bathroom, but once more, nothing was disturbed. He then moved on to the living room and found Felix on the tall kitty condo on the side window facing the lake. Felix was wide awake and his head was up, his pupils glowing a bit in the darkness as he gazed at his owner. Under normal circumstances, Garrus would have considered it creepy, but for now, he simply ignored it.

From there, Garrus moved to the kitchen, but once more, everything was in place. Suddenly, he jumped up a bit as he heard the noise again. It made Garrus look up towards the ceiling again, figuring that it was coming somewhere in the master bedroom corner of the house above them.

' _Must be from the attic,_ ' he concluded.

Heading back into the hallway, Garrus went over to the stringing hanging on the ceiling connecting the door that led to the attic. He pulled it down quietly and carefully extended the ladder to the floor. Once that was done, he climbed up to the attic, though just enough to get a view of the whole floor. There weren't a lot of things placed here as of now, so there was no chance for anyone to try to hide up here. Once more, everything was in place including the sniper perch Garrus set up when they first moved here.

' _I must be going crazy,_ ' Garrus finally concluded with a shake of his head.

Then suddenly, from the master bedroom, a gunshot was heard.

Garrus did not hesitate to practically fly off the ladder, landing on the hallway floor on his feet. He then rushed to the master bedroom, almost expecting the worst. However, he barely took two steps when he noticed an intruder dressed all in black sitting up on the floor while whimpering. Turning on the light, Garrus got a clear visual of the intruder. A gun was thrown just out of reach and Garrus quickly grabbed for it. He then noticed the intruder nursing a fresh gunshot wound in his upper right thigh.

"He came from the master bathroom," Shepard informed Garrus. She still held her pistol up, aiming at the intruder with its barrel slightly still smoky from the bed. "He also tried to kill me when he saw me."

"God dammit!" the intruder screamed out. "If I had known that _the_ Commander Shepard lived here, I would've never tried to rob this place!" In a way, hearing that was a relief to Garrus; the intruder was simply a robber and not out for Shepard's blood.

Shepard had only one thing to say to the intruder. "Well, karma is a bitch, isn't it?"

Not long after that, the police came by and the intruder was arrested. Shepard remained on the bed as she gave her report to one cop while Garrus walked with another telling his side as well as trying to figure out how the intruder came in. Garrus used his camera system and realized that the intruder had managed to get through the window!

The only reason the burgular came through so easily was because Garrus never thought a tripwire was needed in the master bathroom… he thought it was impossible for an intruder to get in due to the window's size, but since the intruder was a thin man to begin with, it was an easy feat. He also used a step ladder that he brought with him.

It took a couple of hours, but soon everything settled down again once the police were gone. Shepard and Garrus tried to go back to sleep, but of course, the adrenaline of tonight's events left them wide awake… plus it was just past four AM so it wouldn't be long before the sun came up.

"I don't get it," Garrus finally said after a long silence. "I was so sure that everything was in place and… I seriously thought a tripwire wasn't needed in the bathroom because of how small and high up the window was."

"Sometimes we underestimate things," Shepard tried to assure him. "Don't beat yourself over it."

"You know what," Garrus began. "I need to figure out other means of defending our home. I don't want something like tonight to happen again."

Shepard frowned a bit. Garrus didn't say it outright, but the fact that the intruder tried to kill her tonight clearly upset him, so it came as no surprise that he was going to work on fortifying their home from future invasions.

"I don't know how else you can," Shepard stated. "Except adding a tripwire to the bathroom window. All the other windows have tripwires, and we have cameras and a sniper perch. Heck, I'm surprised this house isn't filled to the brim with the amount of pistols, assault rifles, and sniper rifles we have here. Unless we get a guard varren, which you refuse to have, I don't know how else-"

"Wait a minute!" Garrus called out as an idea came to him. "Why didn't I think about it before when we first moved here?"

"Think of what?" Shepard asked, clearly confused.

Garrus chuckled a little. "I know just who to call for something like this."

Now Shepard was even more confused. "Who?"

* * *

_Two Days Later…_

"Shepard, good to see you again," greeted Zaeed Massani after Shepard opened the front door.

Shepard managed to smile. "Same here, Zaeed," she agreed as the two shook hands. "How have you been?"

"Not too bad, really," Zaeed replied. "I'm about all but retired these days. I'd be basking in the sun right about now had it now been for those goddamn Reapers."

"I assume you've been helping with recovery?" Shepard guessed.

"Recovery, rebuilding, trying to prevent people from killing each other… needless to say, it's been a big damn mess out there, though it's been a little better as of recently since the people running the show around here finally decided to pull their heads out of their arses."

"I heard about that from the news," Shepard said. "Anyway, come on in. Garrus should be just about done with the gun mods that were on order."

The both of them walked into the cabin, and Zaeed took only two steps before he stopped to look at his surroundings. "Nice place you have here," he mentioned. "Very cozy… I like it. I think I like it better than your apartment up on the Citadel. At least this one doesn't have any of those fancy pictures that's passed as 'art.'"

"Hey, the artwork came with the apartment," Shepard pointed out as she sat down on the recliner.

"You know what would be a good for this place?" Zaeed continued as he walked around the room. "Taxidermy. You and Garrus go on a hunting trip and get yourselves a deer with big antlers. Mount his head above the fireplace over there and used the rest of him for enough dinners to last you a month. Of course, Garrus probably couldn't eat the meat, but at least you'll be well fed for a while."

Before Shepard replied, the front door opened and Garrus walked in. Naturally, Zaeed turned to see who came in.

"Garrus," Zaeed greeted. "Good to see you again."

"Same here, Zaeed," Garrus replied as the two shook hands. "Thanks for coming by on such short notice."

"No problem," Zaeed replied. "Besides, I needed to get away from my colleagues for the day. We're helping out with recovery in New York City as well as trying to keep people from killing each other. Let's just say I got convinced into it."

"No retirement yet?" Garrus asked.

"No, but I'm hoping to soon," Zaeed said. "In a way, I'm looking forward to it… maybe in the summertime. Then maybe I can get myself a place like this, though it would probably be a lot smaller."

"Zaeed said we should mount deer heads about the fireplace," Shepard mentioned.

Garrus gave the former merc a bewildered look. "Why?"

"For decoration after all the hard work you put in hunting the animal," Zaeed pointed out. "About ten years ago, when I was in Tuchanka, a group of mercs and I would hunt for wild varren out in the middle of nowhere so we didn't starve to death in between missions. Nothing but the hot sun, the wind, and the sand below our feet to keep us company. And when we do find them, those little bastards are goddamn fast, though they don't quite outrun a cheetah. The worst part was trying to avoid thresher maw territory, and I swore they were everywhere. Luckily, we only ran into one that tried to have us for lunch… all but one of us made it out alive that day."

"I have to admit," Shepard began to say. "I would be _very_ impressed if someone managed to mount a thresher maw's head to their wall after hunting it down."

"Most likely a krogan," Garrus guessed. "Though now that I think about it, I can definitely see Grunt doing that."

Shepard chuckled as she thought about the young tank-bred krogan. "I'll have to make that suggestion to him next time I speak to him over the vid-com. I think Grunt would like the challenge."

"He would," Zaeed agreed. "Speaking of challenges, I think it's about goddamn time we go over what I came here for. First… what kind of defenses do you have up already?"

Shepard took a deep breath, knowing that this was coming. When Garrus brought up inviting Zaeed over the other night, all she could think about was whether or not any of her appliances would end up exploding in her face after Zaeed was through.

"Cameras, tripwires, a sniper perch in the attic, and guns hidden in reachable places," Garrus named out. "The windows are also shatter proof."

Zaeed happened to spot one trip wire on the front window in the living room. "Not bad, not bad," he said as he walked over to the window. "It still needs just a little more work, but of course, you wouldn't have called me if there wasn't. Anyway, I do have a suggestion for these wires."

"What's that?" asked Shepard.

"Bring them a bit closer to the wall," Zaeed advised. "Then paint them the same color as the wall to camouflage them. Then that way, an intruder won't notice it. They have this new tech in the black market… scissors with freezing sensors. Makes it easy to not only cut the tripwires, but also freezes the wire sensors before they have the chance to sound the alarm. If you disguise the wires, this decreases the chance of the intruder cutting them. Of course, in the off chance that they do spot the wires, you can never go wrong with laser trip wires. Easy to hide and they'll never see it coming.

"The tech was hard to find considering the current resources after the war," Garrus explained. "Or else I would've installed them in the first place."

"Makes sense," Zaeed nodded. "You gotta make due with what you have."

"That's what I always say," Shepard spoke up.

"If you're worried about lack of resources or economics, there are cheaper ways of defending your home," the merc began to say.

"How so?" Garrus asked, clearly eager to hear what he had to say.

Zaeed began to walk over towards the threshold that led to the kitchen. "Believe it or not, food can be used as a weapon."

Shepard quickly became baffled by the suggestion. "Food? Seriously?"

"Think about it," Zaeed started. "You happen to be in the kitchen rummaging through the refrigerator for a midnight snack when an intruder suddenly comes up from behind you. Your guns are far from your reach and you have nowhere else to go but further back into the refrigerator. That nice frozen Cornish game hen you were saving for that special dinner is just as effective as throwing bricks. You aim that right in the head and I guarantee he'll be knocked out _cold_."

"Why do I get the feeling there's supposed to be a pun in there somewhere?" Shepard uttered.

"If you also happen to be opening up a can of beans," Zaeed continued. "You can use that to pour it all over the floor just as the intruder is stalking towards you."

"And the point of that is…"

"Not only will he do a little dance for you while trying to keep himself upright, but once he loses his balance, he'll be falling flat on his face."

"I see…"

"Cooking spray works too," Zaeed added. "Just aim it at the eyes. Let me tell you, it almost hurts just as much as pepper spray."

Garrus chuckled. "Sounds like you had personal experience."

"Of course, you can always rig the refrigerator or other appliances in here," Zaeed mentioned, clearly ignoring Garrus's last statement.

"Well I guess the kitchen is just full of wonders," Shepard said

"It's a gold mine of possibilities," Zaeed said. "Why do you think the kitchen is the most dangerous room in a household? It's not because the stove is too hot when something is cooking… it's because things just might explode in your face."

"That's… what I'm afraid of," Shepard sighed.

"Speaking of explosions, do you happen to have a fire extinguisher?"

"We do," replied Garrus. "It's… in the kitchen."

"Perfect," Zaeed nodded. "A fire extinguisher is perfect for home defense… chemical burns or a bludgeon, take your pick." He then looked into the kitchen and noticed something else. "I see that you have a liquor cabinet."

"Yeah, we just had that placed in this past fall," Garrus said. "Speaking of which, I got you some of that Mount Milgrom whiskey you mentioned you liked."

"That's very nice," Zaeed replied, clearly appreciating the gesture. "Anyway, this gives me an idea. Say the intruder comes in while you're not home. He might see the cabinet and decides to steal some alcohol for himself. Sure, he might pick up a dextro bottle and get an allergic reaction to it if he didn't notice the label, but there's a very small chance that would happen.

"So what you do is rig the cabinet so that when he opens it, it automatically shoots out crushed glass filled with formic acid crystal."

"And… then what?" asked an unsure Shepard.

"Ever been bit by a fire ant? No? Well, if you ever do, it stings like a bitch and that's only one milligram of formic acid right there. This would be enough to fill two point five grams of that stuff. The glass penetrates the skin and the acid immediately attacks the peripheral nerves. Instant flooring! And instead of dying, the intruder begs you to kill him."

"That is genius," Garrus said with enthusiasm.

Shepard clearly was still unsure about that. "What if… I want to get into the liquor cabinet?"

"There's two ways to cover that," Zaeed began. "Either have a number pad with a personalized code, which can be easily hacked, or have a finger pad keyed to your DNA… but then again, if your clone happens to come back from the dead, then that protection is thrown right out the window."

"You're _still_ not letting that go after almost two years?" Garrus asked with surprise.

"Hey, I'm just trying to figure out our goddamn options," the older man said. "We can always fall back on micro-filaments in a twelve by twelve grid on all the windows in the house as well cyanide in the kitchen faucet."

"I am _not_ having cyanide put in the plumbing system!" Shepard called out.

Zaeed shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Do they even still have micro-filaments available after the war?" Garrus asked.

"I'm sure I can find some in the black market somewhere in this universe," Zaeed replied.

"I just thought of something…" Shepard suddenly said.

The two men turned their heads to her. "What would that be?" questioned Garrus.

"The clone said that there was one thing that they couldn't copy when they created her… our finger prints. Maybe if we got a finger pad that only reads finger prints rather than DNA, then that would lessen the chances of them getting into the cabinets _and_ lessen the chances of me getting paralyzed by formic acid crystal."

For a moment, Garrus and Zaeed were silent as they though that over. Then, Zaeed suddenly placed a hand over his face. "Goddammit! Why didn't I think about that before?"

"Because you were too focused on the DNA aspect," Garrus pointed out.

"Shut it, Vakarian," the former merc grumbled, though that only earned a chuckle from Garrus and Shepard.

* * *

Later, just as the sun was starting to set, Garrus, Shepard, and Zaeed decided to sit in the backyard on the lounge chairs. Each of them had a gun in hand, specifically Garrus and Shepard's sniper rifles and Zaeed's old, beloved Avenger that he named Jessie years ago. They each took a turn shooting at clays that were shot with the clay shooting machine Garrus had purchased over the summer.

"I can't believe you managed to get that thing fixed," Shepard mentioned, referring to Jessie.

"I managed to find a salarian dealer on the Citadel who sold old parts for discontinued rifles. He used to work on Omega before Cerberus took over the station," Zaeed said. "Omega's a shithole, but it's got its uses."

"Tell me about it," mumbled Garrus just before shooting a piece of clay over the lake.

"Like this one time I went to buy an upgrade for Jessie from Harrot's Emporium. I usually try to avoid the place, but the bastard was the only one in the entire Terminus System who had exactly what I needed. Goddamn bastard tried to scam me too, but all it took was a rifle to the face to stop him."

"That's… pretty damn gutsy," Shepard admitted.

"Yeah, but Aria was on my arse about it after the fact. Got me banned from the Emporium, but that's not really a total loss in the end," Zaeed said.

"Is Aria even still alive after all this time?" Garrus asked.

"As far as I know, she still has her blue hands on Omega," Zaeed said. "But that was about a year ago while you were still in the hospital, Shepard. I went back once after the war to meet up with an old buddy of mine for a drink at Afterlife. That didn't last long when some old enemies from the Eclipse tried to shoot us down. We both made it out alive, but my buddy had to be taken off the station to find proper medical care for the bullet in his hip."

"Ouch," winced Garrus.

"Anyway," Zaeed started. "It was good to see you both again. I'll try to see if I can get you those finger print scanners the next time I hit the black market."

"You leaving us soon?" asked Shepard.

"Yeah… gotta get back to the city before my colleagues start throwing goddamn hissy fits over my absence… not that they can't function without me, but sometimes I have to wonder."

"Maybe you should consider that retirement," Shepard suggested.

"I'm leaning towards it," Zaeed agreed. "Just have a few more loose ends to tie up before I can do that."

"Well, let us know when the time comes," Garrus said. "Maybe we can secure you a little place around here."

Zaeed shrugged. "We'll see."

"Before you go," Shepard began as she activated her omni-tool. "I want to get at least one picture of you."

Zaeed groaned a little. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," Shepard replied with a little amusement. "For one thing, I spent most of the day wondering whether things will start exploding in my face after today. And secondly, I have plenty of pictures of all the other squad mates, but the only one I have of you is the group picture from the Citadel apartment. I promise I won't post it on the extranet for the universe to see."

Zaeed thought over it for a couple of seconds. "All right, but only because you've always had my back these past few years."

"Still do if you ever need it," Shepard offered. "Just don't expect me to jump over thresher maws anytime soon."

Zaeed chuckled. "I'll settle for that."

It only took a minute for Shepard to take a single picture of her comrade. Later, she would add the picture to her collection in the living room wall and realize that this was the most relaxed she had ever seen Zaeed with the sun setting nearby and him relaxing on the lounge chair. In one hand was a bottle of beer and in the other was his beloved Jessie.


	24. Freezing

After a very restful sleep, Shepard woke up just after the crack of dawn. The first thing she noticed was the window that gave her the view of the current weather outside. The ground outside was covered in a blanket of heavy snow, the lake was nearly iced over, and snowflakes gently fell down from the cloud-covered sky.

It was a sight she would be enjoying… had it not been for the fact that she noticed how cold she was at the moment.

"Ugh," Shepard groaned. Looking down, she was not surprised to notice that the blankets she wrapped around her the night before were missing. Looking immediately to her right, Garrus's back was turned to her with most of his body covered in about six blankets, including the two they were supposed to be sharing.

"Naturally," she sighed with a roll of her eyes. As much as she loved Garrus, this was one habit of his that was going to annoy her.

' _Maybe we should've gone to Palaven for the winter,_ ' Shepard thought. ' _Oh well… maybe next year we'll do that.'_

Carefully, Shepard got herself out of bed and immediately noticed pain in her right leg. Frowning a bit, she rubbed her leg a bit with her hand to relieve the tension, figuring it was from… their activities from last night.

' _We're going to have to take it more slowly for a bit_ ,' Shepard thought. ' _Well… at least this gives me an excuse to use a heating pad today._ '

Using the nightstand as leverage, Shepard got herself on her feet before slowly heading to the bathroom. There, she would soak herself in a nice, hot bath for about forty-five minutes, at least until the water's temperature was starting to get a bit cold. In the back of her mind, she wondered if they should get a Jacuzzi. She figured that would definitely be something Garrus wouldn't mind getting for the cold months.

After getting out of the bathtub, Shepard dried herself off before getting dressed in her N7 hoodie, black sweatpants, and red fuzzy socks. When she walked into the bedroom, Garrus was out of the bed with all the blankets left behind in a large pile in the middle of the bed.

Making her way through the hallway, Shepard could hear Garrus tinkering with something in the living room. She sighed, realizing what he was doing.

"Garrus!" she called out. "You're not calibrating the heater again, are you?"

"I wish!" Garrus called out. "Actually, the heater broke this morning."

"Great…" Shepard groaned. "I told you not to mess with it!"

"Well, I had to find a way to make it generate more heat. It doesn't even cover the entire living room."

"You know it will raise the heating bill, right?"

"I'm willing to pay for it if it means my turian ass will be warm for this crazy weather you humans call 'winter.'"

"Yeah, yeah," Shepard said just as she entered the living room. She saw Garrus tinkering with the white wall heater at the corner of the room to the right of the front door. It did not surprise Shepard to see Garrus bundled up as though he was ready to trek Noveria on foot.

"Well, while you try to fix that," Shepard began. "I'm going to make myself some hot cocoa. Do you want anything hot to drink?"

"Yes please," Garrus said, sounding grateful. "I'll take that dual-chirality hot cocoa. And add a little bit of turian brandy to it."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it a little _too_ early to be drinking?"

"First of all," Garrus said. "The stuff taste nasty without it. And two, brandy keeps me warm."

"All right," Shepard replied. "Just give me fifteen minutes."

"It's a good thing we stocked up on supplies before this blizzard hit," Garrus pointed out. "I would hate to be going out there right about now."

"Trust me, Garrus," Shepard said. "Even humans hate going out there… though one of us is going to have to dig out the snow later, and you know I can't do it…"

Garrus sighed. "I know…"

"We should invest in one of those snow mobile one of these days," Shepard suggested. "You just drive around and plow the snow without lifting a finger… and you'll be outside in less time than it takes to shovel it manually."

"That's a great idea!" Garrus called out. "I think I'll go and order that this afternoon."

"They're expensive just to let you know," Shepard said as she went into the kitchen.

"The investment will be worth it!"

Shepard could only shake her head with a small smile on her face. For the next fifteen minutes, the only noise heard in the house was Garrus trying to fix the heater and Shepard fixing up their hot drinks. Soon, Shepard went to sit down on the couch, setting down two mugs on the coffee table.

"Your drink is ready," she announced.

Garrus immediately backed up from the heater before getting himself on his feet. "Good, I could use the break... I definitely need the warmth right about now."

"Really?" Shepard said with a bit of surprise. "I thought the physical activity would heat you up."

Garrus approached her while she was talking and soon leaned down to place his forehead on her temple. "I can think of _other_ physical activities we can do," he murmured, his warm breath tickling her cheek.

Shepard shivered over the sound of his voice and it made her smile, a soft laugh escaping through her lips. "As much as I love to, I'm still sore from last night," she mentioned as she rubbed her right thigh.

"You okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, I just need a heating pad. Could you get one for me?"

"Sure."

Garrus headed over to the linen closet in the hallway where the heating pad was located. While he was there, he picked up another heating pad and an electric blanket… which reminded him that they definitely needed a second one since this was the only one they had. He then returned to the living room and plugged in the three items before assisting Shepard with her heating pad by placing it under her right thigh. He then took the blue afghan blanket that laid across the back rest of the loveseat before wrapping it around Shepard's shoulders.

"That's better," Shepard said, feeling content now.

Garrus then placed the second heating before leaning back on it. He then wrapped the electric blanket around him before slipping his arms through the sleeves. Not for the first time, he thanked the human genius who invented sleeved blankets, especially the ones that generated heat.

"You know, fixing the heater would definitely help," Shepard pointed out.

"I know," Garrus said as he took his drink in hand. "But right now, I just want to be warm."

"Do you want to light up the fireplace?"

Garrus shook his head. "I'm bundled up right now… I don't want to come out of the blanket."

"Oh fine."

Shepard then used her omni-tool to turn on the TV before reaching for her mug of hot cocoa, which was still emitting some steam from the heat. The TV was currently on a local news channel and they saw a female news reporter standing on a mostly empty street in the middle of the small town they both knew wasn't too far from here. All around her, the snow continued to fall and the wind had picked up, causing the reporter's curly auburn hair to whip around her.

"As you can see," the reporter began. "The blizzard here is getting worse by the minute. Just as predicted, the snowfall began just before dawn, adding on to the pile that was left behind by last week's blizzard. The meteorologists predict that today's snow fall will continue throughout the day, and we will most likely see a few more feet of snow by sunset. Now back to the studio!"

The camera switched to a newsman in the studio. "Speaking of winter weather, Punxsutawny Phil has seen his shadow for this year's Groundhog's Day! This means that we will be seeing six more weeks of winter weather!"

Garrus immediately growled at this news. "Where's this _Phil_ so I can have a nice 'chat' with him with my rifle?!"

Shepard burst out laughing at this, but she still managed to speak. "Phil is a groundhog, a small chubby animal that lives underground. You see, we have this human tradition called Groundhog's Day. Basically, a groundhog named Phil would come out every year from the ground. If he sees his shadow, expect six more weeks of this kind of weather. If he doesn't, then expect spring weather to kick in soon."

Garrus's mandibles flicked a little. "In that case… this is the worst human tradition I've heard yet."

"You'll appreciate it when he does predict early spring," Shepard pointed out.

"Until then, I can only wonder if turians can consume groundhogs."

"Just go fix the heater," Shepard finally said.

"Fine, fine," Garrus sighed. He went ahead and finished his drink before getting up to go fix the heater. As soon as he did, Shepard immediately stole the electric blanket and wrapped it around herself.

"I'm taking that back when I'm done!" Garrus called out.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll cook something in the oven for dinner tonight," Shepard announced. "Not sure what yet, but we can both hang out in the kitchen and get some heat from the hot oven."

"Sounds good. I have some datapads to look over anyway, so that'll be a good time to do that. What's for dinner?"

"Not sure yet… I'll decide when the time comes."

* * *

In the late afternoon, the oven was hot and Shepard placed two separate casseroles on the racks, both which would take an hour to cook. She then went to sit down at the kitchen table, where Garrus had a small pile of datapads to look over. Many of them were about the current recovery process on Palaven as well as getting turian refugees back on their home planets. Garrus's run in with the lone turian in town a few weeks ago inspired him to bring the issue up to Primarch Victus as he wondered how many other refugees just wanted to go back to their home planet. He was sure that there were many who decided to settle here, but there were definitely those out there who would rather go home, but couldn't afford a ticket back. Victus was currently working out a way to get those refugees home.

"You remember how I told you how the guy who sold this cabin to me said the cold wasn't as bad here as it was in Noveria?" Garrus asked as he marked off one datapad before placing it down amongst his 'finished' pile.

"I remember," Shepard replied. "What about it?"

Garrus then picked up a new datapad and began to go through it. "I think he lied to me just so he can sell this cabin."

"I don't think he was lying," Shepard said. "If he was lying, then the weather would've been like this all year around, just like in Noveria."

"Maybe," Garrus said. He then finished up the datapad before standing up. "I'm going to tackle that heater again one more time."

"Have fun," Shepard called out.

An hour later, Shepard was getting the casseroles out of the oven. She was just beginning to place the second pan on the stove top when she heard a low humming noise coming from the living room. She then heard another pleasant sound from that room.

"YES!" Garrus yelled out. "We have heat again!"

"Yay!" Shepard called. "And dinner is ready, by the way."

"Right on time," Garrus said as he began to enter the kitchen. "I'm starving."

"Just wash your hands before you eat," Shepard advised. "I don't want you getting oil on your food."

"Yeah, yeah," Garrus grumbled.

* * *

Later that night, the sun had set and the snowfall had stopped. As predicted by the meteorologists this morning, a few new feet of snow was added outside, but it was something neither Shepard nor Garrus were worried about right now.

The fireplace in the living room was lit and the heater was running, warming up the room. Garrus and Shepard both sat on the couch, a fresh new set of hot drinks in their mugs with the steam emitting from them. The fire was the only light source in the room at the moment, giving the cabin a nice, cozy feel. On the armchair next to him, their cat Felix was curled up on the seat and Garrus even took a moment to lightly wrap the blue afghan blanket around the creature. Felix seemed to like the gesture as he hadn't bothered to move from his spot just yet.

"You know, I was thinking," Shepard began to say after a long silence. "Maybe next winter, we can go to Palaven if you want to."

"Maybe," Garrus replied. "But then again, you might complain about how hot it gets over there."

"That's karma for you since I have to deal with you complaining about how cold it is here," Shepard teased.

"Besides, even though my Dad and I are getting along much better these days, I don't think we can both survive living together for more than a month."

Shepard tilted her head. "Really?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Garrus shrugged. "As you know, we both have different ideals and methods. He was always the rule follower…"

"And you were the rebel," Shepard finished with a smile.

"We can always compromise by going to Nevos instead," the turian suggested. "Then again, staying in Palaven would offer me the chance to spoil my future niece or nephew."

"Let me guess," Shepard said. "You spoiling Solana's child would drive her crazy."

"Definitely," Garrus laughed. "First, between me and the baby's dad, they're going to develop a good sense of humor. Then, when they're old enough, I'm going to teach them to snipe and mod their weapons so they have the best damn rifle in the galaxy... after my rifle of course."

"Needless to say, you're excited about becoming an uncle."

Garrus nodded. "I am. Growing up, I don't think Solana and I ever imagined having our own kids. Now that we're older, more mature, and survived a galactic war, the idea of my sister becoming a mother is not so hard to believe anymore. Though I have to admit, as much as I'm excited about becoming an uncle, it doesn't beat how excited my Dad is about becoming a grandfather. He's already setting up the baby's room and Solana's not even through her first trimester yet. If I don't spoil the baby, my Dad will… though even now, I find _that_ hard to imagine."

"Me too actually," Shepard said. "But I guess the prospect of becoming a grandparent changes things sometimes."

"Maybe," Garrus replied.

He then reached for Shepard before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I may hate the cold, Shepard, but…" He then began to nuzzle the side of her head. "There are definitely some… benefits of this season."

Shepard smiled at his words, especially as she realized what he wanted to do tonight. Her leg was much better compared to this morning, so she was indeed up for anything tonight.

Turning her head, Shepard leaned towards Garrus before pressing her lips against his mouth plate. Garrus returned the gesture by gently pushing into the kiss before wrapping his other arm around her waist. Shepard's hand moved up to rest on his shoulders before they both added more fervor into the kiss.

However, before they got the chance to get hot and heavy, they suddenly pulled back to stare at each other as a loud _clunk_ was heard from the corner of the room before a spluttering sound followed. Soon, it came to a stop and the only sound being heard was the crackling fire in the fireplace and their heavy breathing.

"Dammit!" Shepard groaned after a few seconds. "The heater broke again!"

Garrus also groaned at this. This was definitely going to be a very long six weeks…


	25. Surgery

For days after the heater broke, Shepard noticed how the pain in her right leg and hip wasn't going away. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be gradually getting worse the more she moved around. Then, it got to the point where it was getting harder to even get out of the bed without Garrus's assistance.

After a week of all of this, Garrus convinced her to see a doctor to figure out what the problem was. Luckily for the turian, he didn't have to argue his point since Shepard completely agreed to his suggestion. Garrus did remember talking with a human doctor during his last visit to Syracuse some weeks ago and had offered to look over Shepard's recovery if she decided to. He went ahead to make an appointment, but as soon as he mentioned what was going on, the doctor asked him to take her in right away.

At the office in Syracuse, the new doctor looked over Shepard's old X-Rays and made new ones as well to figure out the problem. Once the new x-rays came in, it was very easy to tell what had happened... one of the bolts had loosened from its hold and a rod had slipped from it's original spot, causing it to rub against the muscles and nerves in her thigh. The bolt was still connected, but it was barely clinging on to where it was screwed in, hence why Shepard hadn't considered that a possibility until now.

Shepard knew that she was lucky... had she fallen at some point, or made any quick motions within the last week, the rod surely would have stabbed right out of her. Of course, the bolt loosening and the rod slipping alone required surgery right away.

That was two days ago.

Lying in a bed in a newly built hospital in Toronto, Shepard knew she would be cared for well by the same doctors who saved her life more than a year ago. Garrus sat next to her in a chair, barely leaving her side since she was admitted as a patient.

As the morning sun rose high towards the sky outside, Shepard knew that the doctors would be wheeling her in for surgery soon. The doctors don't think it would take very long, a few hours at most, but Shepard knew that, once it was over, there was going to be another new scar added to her collection.

"This sucks," was the first thing Shepard said not long after waking up. She was able to sleep pretty okay last night thanks to the small dose of morphine to ease the current pain in her leg.

Garrus managed to chuckle. "You've been saying that ever since we saw the x-rays," he pointed out.

"I know, but this still sucks..." Shepard took a deep breath. "I just hate hospitals."

"We all do."

"Except doctors."

"... True."

Shepard turned her head to gaze out the window nearby. It's been months since she was in Toronto, the last time was after the XLSixteen incident when she was bombarded by a gossip media reporter.

Shepard turned her head back to Garrus. "You know, ever since I figured out what was going on with my leg, I'm starting to consider getting those artificial bones... but I guess I've been delaying because, well... I just hate hospitals..."

"Look on the bright side," Garrus replied. "At least you won't be in the hospital for long this time... not like last time when it was eight months long..."

Shepard suddenly felt bad as she reached her hand to her turian, who met her halfway before wrapping his fingers around hers. "I'm sorry, Garrus," she said. "All that waiting you have to do..."

"At least I know you'll be okay this time," he assured her.

That was when an old memory came over her mind and she frowned a little. "Waiting does suck for sure... I know it doesn't seem like it, but I have been in your shoes before."

"When was that?" Garrus asked.

Shepard looked into his blue eyes. "When we found you on Omega... after the rocket hit you..."

Without thinking about it, Garrus reached a free hand up to brush his fingers over the scars on the right side of his face. They were much more healed than they were in the immediate aftermath of that event, but Shepard could still remember the blue blood oozing from the fresh wounds and how painful they looked even with the bandage that remained over most of them for the remainder of their Cerberus days. She usually loved blue, but that was the one time in her life where she truly hated that color.

"Just trying to get you back to the Normandy was nerve-wracking," Shepard mentioned. "I was almost so sure that you were going to die in my arms before we could reach it. And later, when you were having surgery, I had gone in the shower and remembering thinking how I wouldn't forgive myself if you didn't make it."

Garrus gently squeezed her hand in reassurance before his mandibles widened a bit into a smile. "First of all, you shouldn't blame yourself if something did happen to me."

"I know, but I couldn't help it at the time." Shepard sighed a little. "You know, at that time, I was trying to figure things out after being clinically dead for two years, and with the exception of Dr. Chakwas and Joker, it was hard for me to trust anyone. Zaeed and Mordin were new recruits at the time. I initially took them to pick you up first because I thought getting you out was going to be a breeze. It was their first mission under me, a field test if you will. Though I have to admit, taking Mordin that day was the right decision because he was able to keep you stable until we got you back on the Normandy. The night of your surgery, Zaeed convinced me to join him at the Normandy's bar. He ended up telling me a lot about his past missions over shots of whiskey. It did help to ease the stress for a little while.

Shepard then reached a free hand to gently squeeze the bridge of her nose. "If only I had asked Aria about Archangel first _before_ I asked about Mordin. Got information about Mordin, went off picked him up first... then went back and got information about Archangel, and look what loss time did..."

"You didn't know what was going to happen," Garrus replied. "You can't blame yourself just because you're not a psychic. And look on the bright side... these scars have been driving you wild ever since."

That made Shepard lightly laugh. "If you want, you can take my place in the surgery room and get new scars."

Garrus laughed. "I'll pass... though maybe one of these days, Felix just might dig his claws deep enough through my thick skin."

"We would have to stop clipping his nails just for that to happen."

"That reminds me," Garrus said. "Why does he _always_ swipe my ankles and feet from his hiding spot every time I walk by him?"

Shepard shrugged. "Beats me. All I know is that he's better at stealth mode than you are at this point."

Garrus eyed her. "Very funny."

That was when a knock was heard at the door. Turning their heads, they soon notice a female nurse taking a couple of steps into the room. They both knew right then and there that the time had come.

"Hello Shepard," the nurse greeted. "I just wanted to inform you that the doctors will be taking you to surgery in just a couple of minutes."

Shepard nodded. "Thank you... I'm just about ready when they are."

The nurse nodded before departing. When they were alone again, the two of them turned their heads to each other, not saying a word for a few seconds.

"Don't worry," Garrus eventually said. "You'll be in and out in no time."

"I know," Shepard replied. "I'm sorry you have to wait a while again..."

"It won't be so bad this time," Garrus assured her. "I'll take one day over eight months – or two years - any time..."

The turian then leaned down until his forehead gently touched his human lover's. Both closing their eyes, the two of them remained silent for a while with the only sound behind heard was their soft, rhythmic breathing. It wasn't long before they heard the doctors coming into the room. Opening their eyes, Garrus began to pull away before Shepard leaned up to leave a gentle kiss on his mouthplate.

Shepard smiled a little as she pulled back a bit. "I should go."

Garrus breathed out a small laugh. "I wish I had a clever comeback for that right now."

"You'll think about it in about five minutes," Shepard said. "Then you can tell me when I wake up."

"Won't be relevant by then."

"... Yeah, you're right. Either way, I'll be back."

"I know you will."

Soon, Garrus had to back away as the doctors began to get the bed ready to be wheeled away. It wasn't long they were ready to go. Shepard and Garrus shared one more goodbye before the doctors began to wheel her bed out of the room and towards surgery.

As soon as the room was emptied out, a vid-call alerted sounded on Garrus's omni-tool. He went to see who was calling and quickly noticed that it was Solana.

"Oh crap..." he uttered. No, it wasn't because his sister was calling... it was because, with everything that was happen in the last two days, he completely forgot to tell his family that Shepard was even in the hospital!

The first thing Garrus did was close the door of the now-empty patient room behind him in order to have more privacy. He then went over to sit down in his chair before he pressed a command key, opening up the screen. Solana's face was immediately seen.

"Wow!" Solana called out in surprise as soon as Garrus answered the vid-call. "I call my brother and he actually answers!"

"Hi to you too, Solana," Garrus replied.

"Hi there. I might as well cut to the chase... Xarius and I finally set up the wedding date and, according to the universal date times, it'll be around your Earth time spring season."

"That's great," Garrus managed to say.

Solana tilted her head, her eyes showing a bit of worry. "I'd thought you'd be more excited."

"I am, honestly," Garrus assured her. "The last two days have been a little chaotic somewhat. To make a long story short, there's been a complication with Shepard's previous surgeries. She's in the hospital now getting it corrected."

Solana's mandibles flickered a bit. "Will she be okay?"

"She'll be fine," Garrus replied. "It's just that this is going to set back her recovery process by who knows how long."

"I see," Solana said. "Well... now I feel bad... I go off and get all excited about my wedding while Shepard goes into surgery... fine timing..."

"It's okay, Solana. I should've told you two days ago, but-"

"It's been chaotic, I know," his sister finished.

"Don't worry too much about it," Garrus continued. "That's just some good news I can tell Shepard as soon as she's out of surgery. She loves hearing about what's going on with everyone on Palaven."

"I bet she loves hearing about my impending motherhood."

Garrus smiled. "Of course she does. That's her future niece and nephew you're carrying."

Solana almost gasped. "Spirits... my child's aunt is not only going to be a human, but it's going to be _the_ Commander Shepard." She suddenly shook her head. "Oh spirits, I put her up on a pedestal like an adoring fan... if I remember correctly, she doesn't like that very much."

This made Garrus laugh. "Solana, it's fine, but if it makes you feel better, I won't say anything to her."

"Thanks," Solana replied. "Sorry for my weird mood, by the way. You see, I have to take these vitamin pills first thing every morning for the sake of my health and the baby's.  Nothing bad.  It's a common, normal prenatal routine... but I think they use the same amount of sugar as twenty cups of kava because I am beyond hyper for most of the day... at least I'm not jittery."

"If anything, your call made me feel a little better," Garrus mentioned. "Is Dad home?"

"He's at work, and then he'll be at a dinner meeting with the Primarch later tonight. Do you want him to call you back when he gets home?"

"Only if he wants to," Garrus said. "I'm going to go now. Give Xarius my regards."

"Will do. Bye, Garrus."

"Bye, Solana."

Garrus then pressed a button, ending the vid-call. That was when something came to mind, but the person he needed to contact, well... he didn't have their omni-tool number in his vid-call address system.

There was only one way to find the person's contact... he dialed a certain code before waiting for an answer, and it wasn't long before the screen got bigger. Soon, Garrus saw the blue face of a familiar asari.

"Garrus," Liara T'Soni greeted on the screen. "I was just about to call you."

"I assume you got word about Shepard going to the hospital?" Garrus guessed.

"A few news sites are already reporting about Shepard being admitted for surgery, but it's not quite widely known in the universe just yet... only on Earth and a few human colonies."

"I'm sure it won't be long before the universe does hear about it," Garrus said.

"I'm sure too," Liara agreed. "In the meantime, what can I do for you."

"I was wondering if you happen to have the extranet address for Miranda Lawson."

Liara immediately began typing some information on her computer. "Just give me a little time to find that out."

"Certainly."

"I assume you wanted to talk to her about Shepard's surgery?"

"In a way," Garrus admitted. "I did want to get her opinion on a couple of things, and with her knowledge of Shepard's medical records, as well as her cybernetics, I thought this would be a good time to contact her. Needless to say, she's not easy to get in touch with."

"With her former association with Cerberus, it's understandable," Liara replied.

Garrus tilted his head a little. "Isn't Cerberus defunct now?"

"They are, but there are still a few factions around the universe remaining," Liara informed him. "The Alliance have been working hard to wipe out those factions. I've been working with them as the Shadow Broker to give them the information they need."

Soon, a beeping noise was heard on Liara's end of her call. "Here we go... I'm sending you her contact code through your extranet address right now. And according to her omni-tool data, she's currently on Illium."

"I see," Garrus said. "Thanks Liara. How much do I owe you?"

"Garrus, please," Liara began. "You and Shepard are my friends. For something like this, I am willing to give this for free, especially since Miranda is a friend of ours. Now, if you were to ask me about Councilor Sparatus's personal endeavors, however..."

"Eh, I think I'm good, thank you. I'll talk to you soon, Liara."

"Goodbye, Garrus."

Garrus then ended the vid-call before he found himself a bit hesitant for a minute as he thought about Miranda. Like Shepard, he had known her since the Cerberus days on the Normandy SR-2. Back then, Miranda worked as the ship's XO as well as reporting to The Illusive Man. The mission had actually set the motion to Miranda's eventual resignation, especially when she heard later how The Illusive Man wanted to keep the Human Reaper rather than destroy it, thus the death of thousands of humans to create it would have been in vain.

Even now, Garrus and Miranda weren't the greatest of friends or anything, but there was a mutual respect that remained between each other. After all, it was Miranda who helped bring Shepard back two years after the destruction of the SR-1 and it was she who assisted in her recovery after the end of the Reaper War. He figured that, if anything, Miranda deserved to know what was currently going on with Shepard.

Taking a deep breath, Garrus began to dial the code to Miranda's omni-tool. He had expected her to not answer the vid-call right away and he was preparing to leave a message so that she knew it was him. To his surprise, however, the screen extended before the ex-Cerberus operative's face was shown. She seemed to look suspicious at first, but after a split second, she relaxed once she recognized the turian.

"Hi Miranda," Garrus started.

"Garrus Vakarian," Miranda greeted with a small smile. "You almost gave me a scare."

"I know, I have such a scary looking face," Garrus joked.

"Oh no, it's not that," Miranda replied. "It's just you never know what to expect when your vid-call alert says, 'unknown caller.' I assume Shepard gave you extranet address."

Garrus decided to go along with it. "Yeah, she did."

"In that case, what can I do for you?"

Garrus took a deep breath. "I have a question for you, but first, I want to let you know that Shepard's back in the hospital for surgery."

Miranda frowned at that news. "What happened?"

"One of the bolts loosened and it caused one of the rods to slip a bit," Garrus explained. "Honestly, it could have been worse, we just got lucky to catch it in time. Though now I wonder how the bolt loosened to begin with..."

"Anything could've happened," Miranda replied. "But that's just one of those mysteries that's hard to resolve... that is unless the surgeons discover that the bolt wasn't placed on properly when it was installed the first time."

"Now that brings me to my question," Garrus started. "For a while, Shepard and I were discussing the possibility of getting artificial bones in hopes of a better recovery. It was suggested by a doctor we know in Geneva when we went to see her last summer. Shepard hasn't really pursued it yet because of the possible complications, plus you know how much she hates hospitals."

Miranda laughed in agreement. "That I do. One of the first things she asked me after she woke up was whether or not there were any escape routes around so she could get out as soon as possible. And that was before we even began physical therapy."

Garrus shook his head. "Sounds like Shepard. Anyway, about the artificial bones, I wanted to get your opinion on them."

Miranda took a deep breath before answering. "Believe it or not, I had actually considered using them for the bones that were not recoverable after we found her in Alchera. However, The Illusive Man highly _insisted_ we use the cybernetics to make her better than before... which was interesting because I thought her body had more of a chance to reject the cybernetics than the artificial bones.

"As for the bones, they act just like the real thing, though as I mentioned, there is a chance for her body to reject them. I also advise not to have the entire procedure done at once, and even then, we have to wait until Shepard is strong enough to have the procedure."

Garrus inwardly sighed at this. It was the same advice that Dr. Michel had give them when she told them about the possibility. He guess that it was common knowledge.

"Listen Garrus," Miranda continued. "I'm going to be on Earth in a few days, I just need to finish up some business on Illium. I assume Shepard's in Toronto?"

"In a newly built hospital, yes," Garrus informed.

Miranda nodded. "Okay. Once I'm there, I just have to make a quick delivery in Vancouver, but once that's done, I'll take the next shuttle to Toronto to see you both."

"I'm sure Shepard would love to see you. And if you have time, we'd like to invite you to see our new cabin."

"I heard a rumor about that," Miranda said. "Guess it was true after all. In that case, I'd be very happy to take you up on that offer. I'll see you both in a few days."

"Later."

From there, the vid-call ended, and Garrus now found himself a bit bored... and also a bit worried. He was sure that things will be fine with Shepard's surgery, but at times like this, he couldn't help but think of the worst. Then again, he once said to Shepard, ' _There's a small chance I'll be pleasantly surprised._ '

Then again, he hoped that the surprise would be a much bigger chance in this case.

Standing up from the chair he had been sitting in, Garrus began to pace around the room. He was feeling glad that he has some privacy right about now while he waited for Shepard's surgery to be over. He then noticed a human calendar hanging on the wall and, out of curiosity, went over to take a look at it. At the moment, the picture on top of the dates showed a cartoon drawing of a strange-looking small animal dressed up like a doctor with the stethoscope around its neck and wearing a head mirror on top of it's head. The animal was brown ad fuzzy, it's body and tail long, it's face a bit pointy, and it's legs were short. It also had small ears and whiskers that reminded him of Felix's.

Garrus then happened to look at the dates below. That was when he realized what tomorrow was... the human tradition of Valentine's Day. Garrus had already learned the tradition a few years ago when he and Shepard first got together. He could still remember how nervous he was as he wondered if he was even doing this tradition right. Shepard assured him that though the stuff he looked up on the extranet was good guidance, the best thing was to follow his own instincts.

They didn't even get to celebrate the next Valentine's since Shepard was incarcerated in Vancouver at the time. Their last Valentine's was spent in the hospital after the war and he wasn't able to get her anything then. And now there were here again.

That was when an idea hit him. Remembering that there was a gift shop downstairs, Garrus left the room and began to head down there.

* * *

Shepard only woke up once after the surgery was over, but then she ended up falling asleep again before the doctors wheeled her back into her room. It was until right before sunset when she woke up again. Even though she was feeling groggy, it wasn't hard to miss the dozen red, white, and pink balloons that were spread out on the ceiling around her bed. One balloon was shaped into a red heart and the others had different sayings like, 'Happy Valentine's Day!' and 'I Love You.'

She then turned her head to the left and saw Garrus sitting in his chair, a smile on his face. That was when she noticed something else on the table next to her. Turning her head more, she noticed a red vase filled with fully bloomed red and white roses with some baby's breath added to it.

Shepard gazed at her turian after that. "Is it Valentine's Day already?" she asked.

"It's actually not until tomorrow," Garrus informed as he placed an object next to her. He then leaned towards her to place a turian kiss on her forehead. "The surgery went well, by the way. You should be going home next week."

Shepard then looked at what Garrus placed on the bed; a white teddy bear holding a heart that said, 'Be Mine!' She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "As much as I appreciate the gifts, don't you think you went a little... overboard?"

Garrus shrugged. "We, eh, hadn't really celebrated the two Valentine's before this one so... I'm making up for lost time. I'd get you chocolates, but you can't even eat those right away until you're out of the hospital."

He then took Shepard's hand into his. "I know usually this is something for tomorrow, but... I figured that I, um... well.. I figured, well... I didn't need one day to tell you how much I love you..."

Shepard couldn't help but smile as she felt her heart flutter inside her ribcage. "That... is the sweetest thing I've ever heard... and now I'm sure that my sudden sappiness is coming from whatever drugs I'm on."

Garrus laughed. "Something I learned during my C-Sec days is that some narcotics or alcohol tends to make people tell the truth."

Shepard smiled more. "I think you're right." Her smile then went away as she began to yawn.

"You should get some sleep," Garrus suggested.

"I don't want to..." Shepard moaned. "I want to be up... but I guess my body is not agreeing with me right now, so I guess I'll listen for once..."

Garrus chuckled before he gently squeezed her hand with his. "I'll be here if you need me."

Shepard began to close her eyes, but not before saying, "I love you."

Garrus gave her another kiss on the forehead. "I love you, too."

Soon, Shepard fell into a peaceful slumber. Garrus then happened to turn his head towards the window, noticing the light snowflakes falling towards the ground. It reminded him of the day Shepard woke up. It had been sunny that day, but then the clouds moved in later that evening. Just like last time, the snowflakes fell slowly and gently, and all was quiet around him.

Garrus soon realized there was perhaps one good thing about snow... it seemed to do a good job in emphasizing the peacefulness he was currently feeling...


	26. Miranda

A week had passed since Shepard's surgery, and at this point, the commander was feeling antsy. Although Garrus had wheeled her out of her room almost everyday since the surgery, Shepard still felt trapped within the confines of the hospital. Each day, without fail, she would try to convince Garrus to calibrate an electric wheelchair as a means for her to make her getaway. Each time, Garrus would just laugh it off.

Everyone they still remained in contact with had heard about Shepard being back in the hospital and have sent their well wishes through extranet messages and vid-calls. Just two days ago, a bouquet of daisies were sent to her with a simple note reading, 'To Lola.' Shepard didn't have to even guess who those were from, though there were also signatures from both Cortez and Traynor amongst Vega's.

Then finally, the doctor who oversaw her surgery told her that she'll be going home tomorrow morning. Shepard resisted the urge to raise her arms in triumph and shout out with glee... she wasn't on enough pain meds to be _that_ silly.

"I admit," the doctor said. "We should be watching over you for another few days, but let's just say we were convinced to let you out early."

Shepard immediately turned her attention to Garrus, who responded by raising both hands up. "It wasn't me," he mentioned.

So when Miranda Lawson made her presence known later that evening during visiting hours, Shepard wasn't surprised.

"Ah, so it was _you_ who set me free," Shepard greeted as soon as the former Cerberus operative walked in.

"It took a little convincing," Miranda admitted as she took a set in the empty chair to Shepard's right. "But luckily, my knowledge of your medical history won your doctors over."

"The only other way I see this working is that you said to the doctors that you would care for Shepard at home while she continued her recovery," Garrus said.

"Well... yes," Miranda admitted. "Or else I wouldn't have been able to secure your release otherwise."

Shepard had to chuckle. "I didn't take you for being the sneaky type."

There seemed to be a sparkle in Miranda's eyes at that. "Only when it's necessary."

Shepard decided to change the subject then. "You look much more relaxed since I last saw you. How are you?"

"I'm good," Miranda answered. "I've been busy as of late. Until now, I haven't had much of a break."

"If you have time tomorrow," Shepard began to ask as an idea formed in her head. "How about you come over our house for a few hours? If anything, I can always convince whoever is responsible for your busy schedule to take the day off. That'll be my way of paying you back for securing my hospital release early."

"I've heard a rumor you two got a house in the country. I've been meaning to come by for a while."

"You'll love it," said Garrus.

Miranda seemed to ponder over this for a moment before finally giving her response. "I can do that. As a matter of fact, you won't need to talk with anyone. I'll have plenty of hours tomorrow before I have to take a shuttle up to the Citadel tomorrow evening for business."

Shepard nodded. "Sounds good."

"Are you two hungry?" Garrus asked as he got up from his seat. "Because I am."

"Get me a chili hot dog," Shepard requested.

"Ooooh no!" Garrus called out. "You're sticking with soup until you're back home. Doctor's orders, remember?"

Miranda couldn't help but laugh as Shepard grumbled under her breath. "Fine... just... get me soup that's _not_ from the hospital cafeteria."

"That's better," Garrus said. He then turned to the brunette in the chair on the other side of Shepard's bed. "What would you like, Miranda?"

"Just get me a chicken sandwich," Miranda replied.

Shepard immediately glared at her. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"Now why would I do that?" she said almost innocently.

Garrus chuckled. "Anyway, I'll be back." From there, the turian stepped out of the room.

Once he was gone, Miranda turned her attention to Shepard. "He doesn't coddle you a lot, does he?"

Shepard laughed. "Only when I'm bedridden or had tripped over my own feet. I definitely appreciate it, but it does drive me nuts after a while."

"Admit it, Shepard," Miranda began to say. "A part of you loves being pampered like a princess."

"... Okay, maybe once in a blue moon. Just don't tell anyone. Even more than a year after the war, I still need to maintain my status as, 'Commander Bad-ass.'"

Miranda raised a hand up as though she was pledging an oath. "I promise."

Shepard then decided to get back to what they were talking about before Garrus offered to get them dinner. "What kind of business do you have waiting for you on the Citadel?" she asked.

"Alliance business," Miranda replied. "Hackett asked me to help with security protocol now that Shalta Ward is up and running fully again."

"I haven't been back since it reopened," Shepard admitted. "How's that going?"

"Not too bad, all things considering."

"What does that mean?"

Miranda began to explain. "Well, for one thing, there were people who originally lived there who did return to their homes, but not many since they either decided to live somewhere else or, obviously, didn't make it to see the end of the war. We've recently started to house refugees up there, but as you can imagine, we expect trouble from those who weren't picked to be moved to the ward."

"How are the refugees picked?" Shepard asked.

"From what I've gathered," Miranda continued. "The politicians on the Citadel had a lottery and picked a handful of refugees from each camp on Earth from a drawing. Those who were picked are immediately notified and are given free shuttle passes so they can get to the ward."

Shepard raised an eyebrow a little. "Shouldn't they focus on those who need it most, like those with medical needs?"

"As much as I agree with that, it's not that easy. If we only pick one group of people to place on a first come, first serve bases, everyone else will accuse the organizers of discrimination. It's a lose, lose situation for sure, and I think the organizers believed they went with what they believe is 'the lesser of two evils' in this case."

After that explanation, Shepard had to sigh at that. "It never is easy, is it?"

Miranda shook her head in agreement. "I'm sure there are those who would agree, but will go to extreme measures to get their point across. So as a precaution, the Alliance is setting up the security protocol.

"It's also believed that the Presidium may be up and running again, so you imagine that the rich and powerful will be moving right back in as soon as that's ready."

"I imagine the councilors will be too," Shepard guessed. "If I remember from the last time I talked with Joker and EDI, they're almost done with their universe tour and will be back in this region of space soon."

"I bet that's when they'll have the Presidium ready to go." Miranda leaned back into her chair before crossing her leg over the other. "Other than that, I've been spending most of my time helping with the intelligence department of the Alliance, especially when it comes to old Cerberus operations."

"How's that going?" Shepard asked.

A small smile played on Miranda's face. "Let's put it this way... within the last few months, I've been able to convince former operatives to join the Alliance. As you can imagine, what's left of Cerberus is barely hanging by a thread. I think the ones I was able to turn knew that for a long time."

"I assume those who didn't turn thought Cerberus was just as strong as when The Illusive Man was running the show."

"Of course... and those are usually the ones who don't survive for too long. Most of them have either disappeared or were taken out, mostly by the surviving SPECTRES."

"What's this about SPECTRES?" Garrus suddenly cut in as he walked into the room. In his hand was a large white plastic bag with a yellow smiley face on one side of it with the words, 'Have a nice day!' written in red script underneath it.

"That was quick," Shepard mentioned.

"There's a levo-dextro deli right across the street from the hospital, so that's where I went," Garrus mentioned as he sat down in the chair. He then reached into the bag and pulled out a wrapped item that was definitely a sandwich. "Miranda, I wasn't sure what else you liked on your sandwich, so I just asked them to put everything on it. Though when they asked if I wanted 'mayo' or 'ranch,' I asked them to put to use whatever is the healthiest. So there's ranch on it."

He gave the sandwich to Shepard, who in turn passed it over to Miranda. "I appreciate it, Vakarian," Miranda said sincerely.

She then unwrapped the sandwich as Garrus took out the container that was clearly the soup he insisted that Shepard had. Miranda then pulled back the white bread to get a better look at her sandwich and realized that he had ordered that was pretty much like a BLT, only with ranch sauce and thinly sliced chicken. She then placed the bread back on before taking a bite out of it, giving herself a moment to savior the taste.

"Mmm," Miranda hummed. "I haven't had a sandwich _that_ good in a long time."

She almost laughed when Shepard glared at her in response.

* * *

After the morning sun rose towards the clear, blue sky, Garrus, Shepard, and Miranda headed back to the cabin together. With Garrus driving the skycar, they were hovered above the ground, giving them a bird's eye view of the world below them.

"I can't believe how much snow is on the ground right now," Miranda mentioned after a long silence. "How do you two deal with this kind of weather all season?"

Shepard immediately snorted at that. "Let's put it this way; Garrus tried to calibrate the heater to make it heat 'faster' and 'more sufficient,' but it ended up breaking down instead. He then tried to fix it, but then it broke again."

"It's not my fault your heaters are, as Javik would put it, 'primitive,'" Garrus spoke up.

"Yeah yeah," Shepard continued. "Finally, I had to call a repair man."

"He talked _way_ too far to where I had to use my omni-tool to catch what he was saying," Garrus grumbled a bit.

Miranda tilted her head a bit. "Salarian?"

Garrus shook his head. "Believe it or not, it was a volus."

Miranda's eyes widened in surprise at that. "A fast-talking volus? Now THAT is new to me."

"He pretty much found a way to condense all his words in one breath before he has to inhale. 'Lots and lots of practices for years since I moved to Earth,' he managed to say in one breath. Try to say that five times fast and that's how it sounded like."

"I'm guessing he got tired of his clients being impatient over him taking his time with explaining things," Miranda guessed.

"He and his family are actually pretty nice," Shepard mentioned. "They have this specially-made home that's highly pressurized so they can take off their environment suits safely inside, though that definitely means they can't have guests over unless they're also volus. They only live here because his wife is a lawyer who has a network of clients throughout this part of Earth."

"The kids are actually pretty cute," Garrus admitted.

After a couple of hours of driving, they finally reached home. Miranda volunteered to help Shepard get inside the cabin while Garrus carried the luggage they brought with them to the hospital. Once Shepard was settled on the recliner in the living room, she encouraged Garrus to give Miranda the tour of the cabin, giving Shepard a little relax time to herself.

' _Good to be home,_ ' she thought to herself at one point.

A half hour later, Garrus and Miranda sat down on the couch in the living room with Shepard. Miranda gazed at her surroundings. "This is a very nice place. Lovely craft work by whoever built this place."

"Thanks," Shepard replied. "The house is about two-hundred years old."

"I see. Just do me a favor... don't ever put up any taxidermy on your walls."

Shepard laughed as she recalled how Zaeed Massani, during his visit, suggested that they do the exact opposite just mere weeks ago. "I'll keep in that mind," she responded.

"Say, I've been meaning to ask you all day, Miranda," began Garrus. "Have you heard from Jacob Taylor lately?"

"The last time I spoke to him was probably two months ago," Miranda guessed. "He's been quite busy with the recovery efforts."

"He did mention the Alliance putting him on security assignment at one of the refugee camps," Shepard said. "Of course that was months ago from the last time I spoke to him on vid-com. I figured he's been busy since. How is he otherwise?"

"Not too bad," Miranda replied. "As you may remember, he and Dr. Brynn Cole got hitched right after the war."

Shepard nodded. "He mentioned that when he visited me at the hospital last year. Brynn also gave birth to their daughter while I was still in a coma."

"One in a half years old now if I recall," Miranda said. "Other than that, he's been in contact with Alliance personnel. Like me, he's also been giving them tip on what's left of Cerberus, which at this point, it isn't much considering how much their numbers have dwindled since the end of the war."

"And what happened to the scientists and the families Jacob was watching over?" asked Garrus.

"We managed to find asylum for them throughout Earth, all close to Alliance facilities. Needless to say, their expertise in their field of work is not going to waste."

"Good," Shepard said with a nod. "And how's your sister?"

A warm smile came over Miranda's face. "She's very good. She's been keeping herself busy since the war ended, mainly focusing on housing out in the colonies. We talk over the extranet about once a day and-"

Miranda was suddenly cut off as her omni-tool went off, alerting her to a vid-call. "Excuse me," she uttered as she checked to see who was calling. She pressed a couple of commands on her omni-tool to see who was calling. However, once she got the caller's identity, Miranda's eyes widened for a split second, but then she quickly got it back under control in hopes that her two companions didn't notice it.

Still, Shepard managed to catch it. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Miranda sighed. "Yeah, everything's fine. I apologize, but I have to take this call. It should only take a few minutes."

"That important huh?" Garrus asked curiously.

Miranda nodded.

"If you need privacy," Shepard began to suggest. "Go ahead and take the call in the master bedroom. We'll wait out here for you."

"I appreciate it," Miranda said. "I promise, I won't take long." With that, she stood up from her seat before heading towards the hallway that led to the room.

Once they heard the bedroom door close behind her, Garrus turned his attention to Shepard. "Sounds like she has been very busy lately from what I've gathered since she came to visit at the hospital last night."

"Miranda's always been drive by her work," Shepard replied. "If she wasn't leaving for the Citadel tonight, I'd offer to make her a drink."

"I'd say invite her over again when she has a free evening," Garrus suggested. "Then you two can have a girls' night out just like that one night you two spent together at the Silver Sun Strip."

Shepard smiled at that memory. "That was a fun night, and it was definitely nice to see her more relaxed. I'll bring up the idea to her when she's done with her call."

"Sounds good," Garrus said. He then tilted his head a bit as a thought came to him. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Truthfully? Tired and cranky, and I know I'm going to be in a world of hurt once the meds wear off."

"Can't be any worse than immediately after the surgery," Garrus guessed.

Shepard shrugged. "I guess that's true, but who knows."

"Once Miranda leaves tonight, I'll go out and get us some dinner from the market. And if you want, I can get you that chili hot dog you wanted last night now that you're out of the hospital."

Shepard seemed to think over this before responding. "You know what's sad? I actually prefer soup tonight."

Garrus chuckled. "That's a surprise."

"I know, right? Just... no chicken soup. I'm sick of chicken soup. Get me something thick, like broccoli and cheddar soup with some saltine crackers."

"I'll keep that in mind."

It wasn't long before Miranda returned to the living room. Upon seeing her face, Shepard could've sworn there was a very small hint of both relief and confusion dancing in her eyes.

"What was that call about?" asked Shepard. "Or is it classified?"

Miranda shook her head a bit before sitting down. "That was Alliance personnel. I'm... just more amazed over the fact that I'm here talking with you when I suddenly happen to get this very interesting call from the higher ups."

"Well don't leave us in suspense if it's not classified," chuckled Garrus.

Miranda leaned back on the couch before she crossed one leg over the other. She then activated her omni-tool and pressed a few commands. "Well, as you know Shepard, the Alliance has been investigating Cerberus and everything about it, including The Illusive Man. One of their investigators was working on exactly who he originally was. The call I got had sent me a document on The Illusive Man. He gave me brief information, but in a nutshell... they finally identified him and figured out a little bit of his background."

Shepard's eyes widened at that revelation. "Really? It took them that long to figure it out?"

"With everything else that had to be focused on after the war," Miranda continued. "The Alliance had to place certain priorities on the back burner."

"I knew that," Shepard mentioned. "But I figured them wanting to figure out who he was wouldn't have been too big of a job, but that's just my guess."

"Sadly, it wasn't as easy as they hoped. All of us who were part of Cerberus didn't know his true identity, even the higher-ups like me."

"Even the Shadow Broker was having difficulty getting information if I recall," said Garrus. "All they were able to find is how much cigarettes and drinks he had in one day, details on his suit, and a week's worth of sexual liaisons."

"That's what I recall too."

Miranda continued. "Anyway, Shepard, I'm sending you the document to your extranet address. This is fresh, new information, and I personally got the personnel's permission to send you the information. This is all classified for now, so this information is confidential and cannot be shared with anyone else."

"Of course," Shepard said. "I'll delete it once you leave today."

"I feel so left out," Garrus joked.

Soon, Miranda finished with sending the information to Shepard. It wasn't long before the commander got a message alert on her own omni-tool. Quietly, she pressed a few commands before opening up the message.

The information was brief in the document, but it was just enough for Shepard to know who The Illusive Man was. "So... Jack Harper, huh?"

Miranda took a deep breath. "Yeah. As you can see in that document, he was a mercenary who worked in a special group during the First Contact War. He had been stationed on Shanxi during that time. The details of that time, as well as the aftermath, are shaky since anyone he was associated with then has since passed on. I'm sure the Alliance will continue to dig up more information on... Harper in the coming years."

Shepard nodded as she closed her omni-tool. "I'm sure of that, too."

"If I get more information, I'll send it your way," Miranda mentioned.

Shepard then noticed Miranda fidgeting with her hands as she spoke, and she knew that the former operative had something else on her mind. "I have a funny feeling there's something else you want to say," Shepard encouraged in a light-hearted tone.

Miranda chuckled almost nervously. "I do, actually. I can't quite remember if I ever thanked you for everything you've done for me, especially with helping me with Oriana as well as giving me the information I needed to find her whereabouts. If you hadn't told me about Kai Leng still being alive as well as giving me that intel... well... who knows what would've happened."

"I should be thanking you, too," Shepard said. "If you hadn't planted that tracking device on Kai Leng, well... it made the hunt much easier and it was a large step in finally taking out Cerberus."

"Sounds like all these thank yous were all overdue," mentioned Garrus.

Miranda nodded in agreement. "It was."

"Wars tend to make us forget those things," Shepard sighed. "But if anything, it's good to live long enough to make up for it."

"Very true."

It was then that Miranda chose to stand up from the couch. "I'd love to stay longer, but I have to get going since the shuttle leaves soon. Since things are starting to settle down again, I'll do my best to contact you both more often. It was good seeing you two again."

"Same here," Shepard agreed. "And next time, we both need another girls' night out like the one we had back on the Citadel."

Miranda laughed as the memory came over her. "I still remember feeling so glad how we didn't get too drunk over all the wine we had. It was fun. You know what was also fun?"

"What's that?" Garrus asked.

"Getting everyone together in one room. It was great... perfect, really. It'd be nice for all of us to get together again now that the war is over."

"I thought a reunion would be order one of these days," Shepard mentioned.

"Just let me know when the time comes," Miranda said. "I definitely don't want to miss it."

Sheaprd nodded. "Will do."


	27. Springtime

The rain droplets pitter-pattered against the roof and the windows of the cabin. Outside, the heavy clouds were a gravel gray, darkening the cabin as though the sun was setting despite it being the middle of the day. Because of that, the light in the living room had to be turned out so that Shepard could have a better time readings the words of the heavy book that she had rested on her lap.

Sitting on the recliner, with the exception of the rain, all was quiet around Shepard. Currently, Garrus was up in the attic rummaging through some items they stored up there, which included their holiday decorations. Only once in a while she heard him move something or go through one box. Only once did he drop something that made a loud crashing sound. It was promptly followed by him yelling, "Spirits damn it!" Apparently, he thought something broke, but upon inspecting the contents in the box that crashed, it turned out that everything was okay.

At one point, Shepard gazed up at one of the windows in the living room. From where she sat, she could still see the lake from beyond the rain, and it was easy to notice the droplets splashing into small, round waves on the body of water. For some reason, seeing this relaxed Shepard.

Perhaps it was also because today was the first day of Spring.

Pretty much all the snow that was on the ground for weeks had melted away. Though the temperatures were still chilly, clearly it wasn't cold enough for the rain to turn into snowflakes at this point.

Early this morning, when Shepard reminded Garrus what today was, she was not surprised when his mandibles flared into what she believed was one of the biggest grins that he could muster. "It means warmer weather is coming!" was his explanation.

After a light breakfast, Shepard decided to settle down on the recliner and read a book. The book in question? ' _Gardening For Dummies_.'

Now with the spring season, Shepard realized that this would be a good time for her to start to get to know this new hobby that she choose a few months ago while browsing through the local bookstore with their asari neighbor, Meela. At times, Shepard couldn't help but laugh at herself, finding it unbelievable that she, Commander of the Normandy and savior of the galaxy, was taking up gardening.

' _If only the universe could see me now,_ ' she thought with amusement.

Shepard thought to learn about growing a vegetable garden, but for now, she decided to focus on flowers for around the edge of their cabin, especially in the front yard. The book talked about the different types of flowers, and Shepard found herself mostly debating on which flower she wants to plant.

At one point, Shepard heard Garrus start to come down the ladder steps that led to the attic in the hallway. Turning her head, she noticed a large, brown paper bag in his left hand while he used his right hand to steadied himself while going down the ladder steps.

"What are you doing?" she asked once his feet were back on the wood floor and after he pushed the attic door back up towards the ceiling.

"I was looking for this bag the whole time," Garrus explained. "It turned out it was wedged between the boxed up Christmas tree and your bin of countless Halloween items."

Shepard tilted her head as she gazed at the bag again. "What's in it?"

"The art supply stuff I bought in Syracuse a while ago," Garrus explained. "You looking at your gardening book prompted me to finally get my art supplies out."

Shepard smiled. "Glad I continue to be an inspiration even after we somewhat retire from our space adventures."

Garrus chuckled at that. "You've always had a knack for inspiring others even when you don't try."

"Well, let's not go that far, Vakarian," Shepard mentioned. "By the way, where in the cabin do you plan to work on your paintings?"

"I was thinking about making the spare bedroom into an art studio," Garrus replied as he sat down on the couch and began to go through the bag. "It's pretty much become nothing more than a storage room, and I thought it would be a good place to paint. Not only do the best artists have a studio in their home, but there are two benefits of having a separate room; keeping the smell of paint in one area rather than having it waft through the whole cabin, and having a spot with even more peace and quiet."

Shepard then noticed him pulling out a book from the bag before placing it on the coffee table; ' _Painting For (Turian) Dummies._ ' "Not every great artist have a spare room for their studio," she mentioned. "Even the best of them have to work with what they have, which may sometimes be in the middle of the living room."

"True," Garrus said with a small shrug. "Still, I need to go to a nearby art supply store to get a couple of things. Something to protect the floor with in case I drip paint, and... eh... what are those things called that hold the canvas while you paint?"

Even Shepard had a take of moment to remember what it was called, but it soon came to her before she even thought to open up her omni-tool. "An easel?"

"That's it!" Garrus called out. "I need one of those."

Shepard then remembered something. "Are the Gambas still coming over tomorrow? I recall that Trey was going to help you with fixing up the shed in the backyard."

Garrus nodded. "As long as it doesn't rain tomorrow, Meela and Trey should still be coming over."

With that in mind, this gave Shepard an idea on what she and Meela can do tomorrow while Garrus and Trey work on fixing the shed.

* * *

_The next day..._

The sun was shining through the parted clouds above. The temperature outside was also pleasant, so when the Gambas came over to Shepard and Garrus's home around noon, Meela suggested that the four of them go outside and eat their lunch on the picnic table in the backyard. Meela had personally made all of them their own lunches before coming over. The two levo meals, both lunchmeat sandwiches accompanied by potato chips, were packed in plastic bags. The two dextro foods, one a turian delicacy and the other quarian, were sealed in a special white container that kept the food inside sterilized. Garrus simply opened up his container while Trey used a sterilized straw and slipped it into a small compartment so that he could sip his food through the slot of his black-tinted helmet.

' _I wonder if he calls that straw an emergency induction port,_ ' Shepard thought with amusement as she remembered Tali saying that when she was drunk on turian brandy one night.

"This is delicious, Meela," Garrus complimented after a few bits of his sandwich. "You didn't have to sterilize my food."

"I know," Meela replied. "But I must admit, it's a habit I developed with all dextro food since Trey and I got married."

"Better safe than sorry," Shepard pointed out. "Last thing you want to do is mix up their lunches just in case."

"Luckily, I'm a vegetarian so I would've caught on to it beforehand," Trey mentioned.

Meela gazed her amber eyes up towards the sky. "I'm so glad the weather is getting better now," she said. "This winter was so brutal with all the snow we had."

"Tell me about it," said Garrus. "Did I mentioned how much turians hate the cold?"

"Lots of time," Shepard replied.

Garrus turned to Trey. "I bet you have a heater in that suit."

Trey chuckled. "I do."

"Remind me next winter to buy a similar suit for turians," Garrus said. "Particularly in a black color."

"The black suits are the most expensive of the quarian enviro-suits, just to let you know," Trey advised. "The materials used to make them in that color is hard to make, as strange as that may sound."

"In that case, I can always get a blue color... or a dark green one like you have on right now."

Trey seemed to look down at his own suit through the black-tint glass of his helmet, which was indeed a dark green with white and gold accents. "Perhaps."

It was another fifteen minutes before the four of them finished their lunch. Garrus was the first to stand up. "All right, Trey, let's get started on that shed. And hopefully, it doesn't suddenly rain while we're working."

"I agree," Trey said. "Especially since I don't have windshield wipers for my helmet."

"You can get windshield wipers for your helmet?" Garrus asked curiously.

"Yeah, but they don't sell them on the extranet too often, and they're expensive when they are being sold. I do have a defogger installed for times when the glass of my helmet is covered with fog. Doesn't help when it's pouring, however."

"While you two fix the shed," Shepard began to say. "Meela and I are going to go to the gardening center in town. We probably won't be out for very long."

"Have fun," Garrus said.

As Garrus and Trey began to get the building supplies out, Shepard and Meela began to head out towards town to the garden center that was located on a small field just off of Main Street and not too far from the actual downtown area. They ended up taking the Gambas' car with the asari taking the wheel of course.

"How have you been since you came home from surgery last month?" Meela asked at one point.

"Still sore here and there, but much better since the pain went away for the most part," Shepard replied. "I still have to take it easy, at least until my next doctor's appointment. Did I ever tell you that I hate doctors?"

Meela laughed. "You have, and it makes me glad that Trey and I are both nurses instead of doctors... though Trey was thinking about taking that step soon."

"It involves a lot of schooling from what I remember," Shepard mentioned. "But I think Trey would be good at it. You mentioned that he's compassionate, patient, and still holds his ground when needed, which I personally believe are good qualities of a doctor. If my main doctor wasn't on the victory tour with the councilors right now, that's who I would be seeing right now. But she should be returning to Earth within the next few months."

"You must be looking forward to that."

Shepard nodded. "Yeah. As a matter of fact, I can recommend her as a possible mentor to Trey once he's reading to train, even if they only communicate through extranet messages. Dr. Chakwas has a wide array of knowledge for almost every species. I'm sure Trey would benefit greatly from her expertise."

"He would definitely appreciate the recommendation," Meela said.

Soon, they reached the garden center, which was nothing more than a one-floored greenhouse. Inside, Shepard found her eyes widened in surprise as she noted the wide array of plants either hanging up by hangers off the ceiling or on the display tables.

"Wow," Shepard uttered. "There's... a lot of pick from."

"Hmm," Meela hummed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... if anything, we can eliminate the ones that are poisonous to cats since your Felix is an outdoor cat. You don't want him to end up eating those kinds of flowers just in case he does."

"That's right," Shepard said. "Thanks for the reminder. That'll narrow it down a bit. One problem however..."

"What's that?"

"... I forgot which plants are not poisonous to cats... sorry Meela, clearly I didn't come here well prepared."

"That's okay," the violet-skinned asari assured her. "I'm sure we can find someone who can help out."

"Very true."

It didn't take the two of them long to find a human helper who was very knowledgeable about all the flowers in the greenhouse. Once Shepard told her what to eliminate, it made it easy for the helper to show Shepard the selection she can choose from.

"Here's an easy one to remember; roses," she mentioned. "Though to grow those, you would need a rose bush."

"I don't think I'm ready for that yet," Shepard said. "Let's stick with something simple."

The other flowers that were recommended were zinnias, gerbers, sunflowers, and snapdragons. Each of them came in a wide array of colors, and Shepard found that, for a moment, she couldn't decide which kinds, or color for that matter, to get.

By the end of it, Meela was surprised that Shepard ended up picking all those flowers in each color that was available. Meela almost thought that the trunk of her car had turned into a small flower field.

"I think I like these gerber flowers," Shepard said as she admired a purple set in particular. "This set reminds of the laelia flowers I saw on Palaven when we last visited, so I think he would like these."

"That's sweet," Meela said. "I admit, I really like these snapdragons, especially the orange ones. I think I may consider coming back to get some for myself."

"You can take a few back home if you want," Shepard offered. "I'm sure I bought too many, so I can definitely give a few away."

Meela smiled. "Thanks, Shepard."

As they began to head back to the cabin, Shepard found herself thinking about the gerber flowers that reminded her of the Palaven laelia flowers; the ones that Garrus's mother had loved. In a way, Shepard did worry whether or not Garrus would mind. She guessed that she'll find out once they were back.

* * *

Back at the cabin, Garrus and Trey got most of the shed fixed up, which included patching any holes and replacing wood that was nearly crumbling. Garrus had considered just knocking the shed down and building a whole new one, but considering how a huge chunk of the shed was in good condition otherwise,

"I wish I had done this sooner, like when we first moved in," Garrus mentioned after hammering a nail into the wall of the shed. That thought made him realize something. "Wow... has it already been almost a year since Shepard and I moved in?"

"Times does go by fast, especially when you get older," Trey said as he tightened the new hinges of the old shed door.

"I don't want to get old yet," Garrus replied. "Anyway, it'll be good to have this shed all fixed up. It's amazing how much stuff you end up getting, which you don't even notice until it's time to find a new place to put them. Once this work is done, do you want to help me with getting the stuff out of the spare bedroom and move it in here?"

"Sure," Trey said. "But only if you assist with calibrating my skycar to make its operation more efficient."

"Sure, why not," Garrus agreed. "I've always liked working on car, though I usually like working on guns more. Speaking of which, how are those new mods working out for you?"

"They're working out nicely," Trey mentioned. "I haven't had the chance to try out the scope feature yet, but the damper has really improved the kickback. My shoulder doesn't feel as sore anymore after my last visit at the shooting range."

Garrus nodded. "Good to know."

There were silent for a moment before a thought came to Trey. "Out of curiosity, is there's a reason you're clearing out the spare bedroom?"

"I'm going to turn it into an art studio," Garrus answered. "I figured since we're not using it for anything else, at least not right now, I can use that as a nice, quiet spot to work on my paintings. Plus Shepard doesn't have to deal with the paint fumes, so it works out great for the both of us. Either way, it'd be nice to make to unclutter the room."

"I didn't know you painted."

Garrus chuckled. "I don't. I'm trying it out for the first time."

"What kind of paintings did you want to make?"

That question made Garrus realize something... he never thought of what he wanted to paint. "Hmm... you know, I'm not quite sure. I guess whatever comes to mind, or whatever inspires me."

"I admit, I've always been interested in stone carving since I was young. It was something my ancestors did hundreds of years ago and I've seen pictures of relics from old colonies on the extranet. I've always found it fascinating, though I haven't really sought out how to go about making my own stone carvings."

"I'm sure there's a lot of information about that on the extranet," Garrus said. "That or you can always buy a book on how to do it."

It was at that moment that Shepard and Meela returned to the cabin with the flowers that they purchased at the local greenhouse. Meela managed to get Garrus and Trey to help her and Shepard bring the flowers, all in black squared plastic containers, out of the trunk and onto the picnic table.

Once that was done, Meela spoke up. "Now that we're back, let me go ahead and make those lemonades I bought over."

"Sounds good," Garrus said.

"I'll come and help you, Meela," Trey offered.

From there, the Gambas headed inside the cabin. Shepard sat herself down on one of the chairs that accompanied the picnic table. Garrus stared at the flowers in silence, his head tilted a bit and his mandibles twitching once or twice.

"So I got carried away," Shepard said. "At least none of them will be poisonous to Felix if he ever has a desire to eat them, even though he shouldn't."

"I didn't know there were certain flowers that were poisonous to cats," Garrus replied.

"Me neither until I read my book. Almost forgot about it until Meela mentioned it."

"You also cheated, I see," Garrus mentioned with a chuckle.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean I cheated?"

"You bought the already-grown flowers instead of seeds."

"So what? It's already spring and having already-grown flowers would make out yard look very nice right away."

"You know I'm just teasing you, right?"

Shepard quickly spat her tongue out before responding. "Do you want to help me plant them after we have our lemonade?"

"Trey's going to help me bring the stuff to the shed from the spare bedroom once we finish the shed, but as soon as that's done, we'll go ahead and figure out where to plant them."

"I'm thinking the front yard would be best," Shepard said. "And we don't have to figure it all out today. We can just leave them on this table until we're ready to plant them. We just have to remember to water them."

Garrus's mandibles flared into a grin. "Just like how you remember to feed the fishes on the Normandy?"

"... Are you _still_ hung up on that?"

Garrus laughed. "No, I'm just taking the opportunity to remind you that there are certain things you'll never live down." He then happened to reach his gloved hand over to one of the purple gerber flowers, the tip of his blunted talon brushing over the petals. "At least we do have a sprinkler system to water them."

Shepard didn't miss how his blue eyes softened a bit at the sight of the flower he was touching. "Do you like them?"

Garrus nodded. "Yeah," he said a little more quietly. "They're very nice. They'll look good once they're planted in the front yard. I was thinking these would look nice along the front of the porch in between the two bushes we have. On the right side of our cabin, we can plant these tall flowers next to that taller bush that's near the corner."

Shepard nodded as he brushed a finger over the 'tall flowers;' the snapdragons. "Sounds good. The yellow ones, they're called sunflowers, well, I was thinking of planting them on the side of the cabin facing the lake. They tend to grow taller than you after a while."

"Taller than me, huh?" Garrus said. "That'll be something to see."

* * *

Two days later, it was raining again, and Shepard didn't mind at all. The pitter-patter against the roof and window soothed and relaxed her to the point that the most productive thing she did all day was hang up a suncatcher on the front living room window with a small window suction cup that contained a small, metal hook. The suncatcher, which she found on the extranet, was a replica of the Normandy.

In the spare bedroom down the hall, Garrus was trying out his new hobby for the first time. As of now, the only thing he asked of Shepard was to stay out of the room since he didn't want her to see his work until it was completed.

"So do you want me to still keep away when the Blood Pack suddenly come crashing through the room?" Shepard asked as a joke.

"Hmm... maybe," Garrus replied. "I should bring my rifle in with me in that case."

"Only you would have a rifle in an art studio," Shepard teased.

Later, Shepard was just about to start making dinner when Garrus called over to come into the room. Slowly, she walked down the hallway before making a left turn to the last door in the hallway, which faced the door to the master bedroom. Getting a good look at the room after walking in, it was still mostly empty, but it didn't look as gloomy as when they had used it as a storage room. Garrus had set up a mat and an easel in the middle of the room as well as a small table to keep his paints and brushes. He also sat on a tall, black stood with a cushion on it for comfort. The room was also oddly bright since it didn't contain any blinds or curtains as of now.

When Shepard got closer, Garrus pointed at the squared 10 x 10 inch canvas he was working on. "What do you think?" he asked, almost sounding nervous.

Shepard turned her head to the canvas. Though the lines were shaky and the paint somewhat uneven, it was easy to tell what the painting was. "It looks like that isolated beach on Palaven we went to."

Garrus nodded. "It just happened to be what I thought of at the spur of the moment. See those little purple dots? Those are the flowers my mother loved."

Shepard smiled. "I think you really have potential here," she said sincerely.

Despite her honestly, Garrus wasn't too keen on that thought just yet. "Really?"

"Yeah. You may not think it's perfect, but the more you practice, the better you'll get at it. Just keep it up."

Feeling a bit better by her words, Garrus nodded. "I will."

Later, when the canvas was properly framed, the painting ended up being the spare bedroom's first wall art decoration.


	28. Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch

The afternoon weather was bright and sunny, and the temperatures were cool and comfortable. Shepard decided to take the opportunity to bask in all of this on the front porch, sitting on one of the two wicker chairs with a small matching table in between. On the other chair, her cat Felix was curled up into a ball and clearly taking a nap.

At the moment, Garrus was in the garage filling a gun mod order for a nearby neighbor which he said, 'it wouldn't take long.' So far it's been just over an hour since he started working, but Shepard always knew that her turian was a perfectionist when it comes to gun mods.

Shepard would occasionally hear a banging noise from the garage, birds chirping in trees currently growing purple and white flowers on its branches, and the engine sounds of a car driving by their cabin on the main road. Other that, her surroundings were quiet and peaceful.

Well, at least until her omni-tool started beeping, alerting her to a vid-call. ' _Who could that be?_ ' Shepard thought. In recent days, she and the rest of the housing committee have been resuming their work in building new homes for the refugees now that the weather is getting better. She did talk to the town leader this morning about a potential meeting amongst the volunteers within the next week or so, but other than, she wasn't sure why else the committee would be calling at this point.

However, upon noting who was calling, a warm smile appeared on Shepard's face. She pressed a button on her omni-tool and opened up the screen to reveal the caller's face... which actually surprised Shepard for just a brief moment since she was so used to them wearing a helmet. Now she got a clear view of her gray-lavender face and glowing pale eyes.

"Hey Tali," Shepard greeted warmly.

"Hey Shepard," Tali replied. "How are you?"

"Not too bad. Things are quieter these days, but you get used it. How are things for you?"

"Busy, but things are good. Being busy is, well, one of the reasons why I'm calling you."

"Oh?" Shepard hummed with interest. "What's going on?"

"Well, a few of us quarians from Rannoch are going to be heading to the Sol system to make supply trades in a couple of days. Our agriculture has been thriving for the past year, as you know, and we have enough provisions to supplies our dextro rations to those remaining on other planets. We've already made a few deliveries to a lot of the turian worlds, including Palaven, and now we're heading to Earth to help the dextros who remain there."

"What will you be getting in return?" Shepard asked.

"Any building supplies that can be spared to continue rebuilding," Tali mentioned. "We have plenty, of course, but we never seem to have enough.

"Anyway, Shepard, since I'll be in the area for a few days once I'm there, I was wondering if, well, I can swing by your new place once I finish with business."

"Just don't bring your shotgun," Garrus suddenly said while standing next to Shepard.

Not expecting that (and not realizing that Garrus had approached her at all), Shepard let out a small yelp, which in turned scared Felix out of his sleep as he lifted his head up quickly and turned to his owners. His golden eyes were wide for just a moment before he narrowed them from being tired... or perhaps he was suddenly feeling suspicious towards his owners.

Witnessing Shepard's reaction, Tali chuckled for a moment before responding to Garrus. "I'll bring whatever I want, Vakarian. Anyway, I'll see you two soon."

"See you soon," Shepard said.

Soon the vid-call ended and Shepard turned to Garrus. His mandibles were flared into a smile and his arms were folded in front of him. She in turn narrowed her eyes at him. "Good job scaring me," she grumbled.

"Shepard, Shepard," Garrus asked while shaking his head. "I think you're getting rusty."

Shepard raised an eyebrow at that. "Rusty in what?"

"You usually react quickly when someone sneaks up on you. I was standing there for a whole minute before I had to say something. You didn't notice until that very moment."

"Well excuse me if I was distracted," was Shepard's excuse. "I was talking to one of my closest friends."

"Honey, it's just Tali," Garrus began to point out. "It wasn't like you were looking at a risque picture of me in a suggestive position."

Shepard immediately slapped his arm for that, which only made him laugh. "You wish!" she joked. She then grabbed for his shoulder before pulling herself up. "I wouldn't mind have a little mid-afternoon snack right about now..."

Garrus tilted his at that. "As much as I want to, I'm a little tired from all the work I did today." Garrus then went into a murmur. "But maybe tonight when-"

"No!" Shepard called out while laughing. "I didn't mean that, you perv! I meant an actual snack. I'm hungry."

"Oh!" Garrus exclaimed as he slapped his own forehead. "I thought well... never mind."

"You didn't get enough kava today, did you?" Shepard guessed.

"... Nope. We were out of kava beans this morning."

"Ah, that explains it."

From there the two of them went into the kitchen. Garrus insisted on getting out some crackers for Shepard while she sat down at the table. He got out the box while also get a dextro version for himself before walking to the table and sat himself across from Shepard. Shepard had already set up two napkins in front of them to set their snacks on.

"Out of curiosity," Garrus started to say as he grabbed a handful of his crackers before placing them on his napkin. "Did Tali mention anything about the progress on the Geth in her vid-call?"

Shepard did the same with her own box before responding. "No, she didn't, but I figured that might not be a subject she wanted to discuss over a vid-call. Maybe she'll bring it up when she comes over."

"That's a shame," Garrus said. "Despite our beginnings with them, they really did turn out to be helpful in the end. None of us knew at the time that the Crucible would end up wiping out their hard drive."

"Yeah..." Shepard sighed. "And EDI too... we were lucky she had those backup files in her blue box or else who knows if we would've ever got her back... I know some of the Geth's software survived, the ones who managed to upload themselves in the quarian suits, but... well... I don't know..."

Shepard then quickly changed the subject, not wanting to talk about it any further right now. "Anyway, since Tali is coming over, I think this would be a good time to learn to sterilize food. I bet Trey'Gamba can help me out with that during his free time."

Garrus's mandibles twitched at the subject change, but he decided to go along with it. "I'm sure he will."

* * *

_The world is cold and dark filled with shadows and trees. Running seemed to slow her down with each and every step no matter how fast she tried to run. The shadows around herself were all whispering words, but she can barely understand what they are trying to say no matter how hard she tried to._

_Then, one came clear as a bell... a familiar synthetic voice..._

" _Does this unit have a soul?"_

* * *

A gasped escaped Shepard's lips as she jolted out of her slumber in the middle of the night. She still saw darkness, but at least now she was in the safety of her room with her heavy blanket protecting her from the cold. The only sound being heard was her own breathing and the faint pounding of her heartbeat in her eats.

' _It was just a dream,_ ' she reminded herself. ' _But the kind I despise..._ '

Behind her, Shepard felt the bed shift before she felt an arm wrap around her stomach before she could feel a chest leaning into her back. No doubt her being shaken out of sleep woke up her lover.

"You okay?" Garrus whispered in her ear with concern.

Shepard managed to take a deep breath before answering him. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Just had one of those dreams I hadn't had in a while..."

"The whispers in the darkened forest?" Garrus guessed as he gently tightened his hold on her.

"Yeah... but this time, the only one there was Legion..."

"I'm guessing it's because of our talk from this afternoon..."

"Maybe... but to this day, I can't help but wonder... because even after all this time, I can't for the life of me remember what happened at the Crucible that day. Had I known the Geth and EDI would be affected? Were there any other choices? It bothers me so much that I can't remember that moment at all... even two years later, I still get questions about it on the extranet, and you know the news reporters around the universe are asking if I really know anything at all when I don't... it's the most frustrating thing I've ever had to deal with and I don't know how to resolve it..."

"At least you are being honest to the universe about not remembering about it, even if they don't believe you," Garrus assured her. "It's better than trying to fabricate a story just to satisfy their lust for information and ratings."

Shepard huffed with barely any amusement behind it. "I admit, it's tempting sometimes, but, yeah, I refuse to lie just to give them that satisfaction, even if it does mean they'll get off my back."

Garrus gave her his own version of a kiss to the side of her head before speaking. "You're standing your ground... that makes me so proud of you... not that I wasn't before, but you know what I mean."

Shepard reached down to place her hand on the back of his. "I know. And thank you. You help me get through the tough stuff, you know that, right?"

Garrus nuzzled into her hair. "I know, love. I know."

They fell silent after that, content on just enjoying one another's presence. It wasn't long before they both fell back asleep...

* * *

_A few days later..._

In the middle of the afternoon, the doorbell rang, and Garrus promptly answered it while Shepard began to stand up. They both knew who was at the door even before Garrus opened it, revealing a familiar quarian female even with her full suit on.

"Oh, it's just you Vakarian," Tali said, trying her best to sound disappointed, bu it was clear in her voice that she was happy to see him.

Knowing that she was joking, Garrus gave her a faux suspicious glare. "You know a simple 'hello' would've been sufficient, Miss Zorah."

"That's Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch to you, mister," Tali responded. "And here, this box is all for you. I managed to save some dextro provisions for you."

Garrus took the box in his hand. "Thank you. What's in it?"

"Mostly fruits, vegetables, and wheat," Tali mentioned. "It's all sealed and frozen so that it remains fresh, at least for another six months Earth time. I'd say it's been about two weeks since we sealed it. I know you turians prefer meat, but Rannoch doesn't exactly have the right kind of resources for that, at least not yet."

"I still appreciate it," Garrus assured her.

By then, Shepard had approached the two and Tali immediately met her halfway before the two of them shared a hug. "Shepard! You look good."

Shepard replied as they pulled apart, "And you look the same since I last saw you of course."

Tali chuckled. "Even with our adjustments to Rannoch, we're so used to our suits that we feel like of lost without them. I only take off my helmet when I'm at home on Rannoch."

"You finished building your house already?"

"Not quite," Tali replied. "I'm still working on it and... is that Felix?"

Shepard turned to where Tali pointed and saw Felix relaxing on the three-seater black couch. He was gazing up at the quarian out of curiosity. "Yup, that's Felix, our pet cat."

"Liara told me you two got a cat," Tali said as she walked over to where he was. "Can I pet him?"

"Sure."

"He's a little on the shy side just to let you know," Garrus mentioned to her. "So don't be offended if he-"

"Hello Felix," Tali greeted as she began to pet Felix's head. Felix immediately responded by closing his eyes and purring almost louder than a car engine.

Garrus sighed as he ended up finishing his own sentence. "... Runs away..."

"He's so cute," Tali said as she sat down in the spot next to Felix, continuing to pet him. "Do you still have your space hamster from the Normandy?"

"Yes we do," Shepard replied. "Vinny's in the master bedroom if you want to see him later."

Garrus was confused suddenly. "Vinny? That's the hamster's name?"

Shepard widened her eyes. "You didn't know?"

"No I didn't," Garrus said, sounding baffled. "That hamster's been around how long? And you never told me his name."

"Well, I admit, I didn't give him a name until after my incarceration," Shepard mentioned. "I swore I told you before."

"No you never did," Garrus said. "You always referred to him as 'the hamster' or 'the little guy,' so I've been calling him that this whole time."

"Wow," Tali piped in. "This is more awkward than that time I got a little too drunk at your party on the Citadel."

"You mean that time you admitted to having a-" Shepard started to say.

"Please Shepard, let's not mention _that_ again of all things."

"I was just going to mention your omni-tattoo," Shepard finished.

"Oh!" Tali called out. "That. Well, I, um..." She quickly cleared her throat. "I still have it, you know."

"Really?" asked Garrus as he sat down on the two-seater couch diagonal from Tali.

"Yeah, well... SAY! You want to see a picture of my house on Rannoch?"

"Sure," Shepard said, realizing that Tali decided to change the subject.

Tali pulled up her omni-tool and began to go through her picture gallery. "It isn't much, really since it's still being worked on. I was going to have it placed in the spot where we defeated the Reaper, but then I decided that the lake front property would be prettier."

"The one you picked out first the morning we took back your home world?"

"The very one," Tali said. "Here, take a look."

Tali leaned forward so that Shepard got a better look at the picture. It was mostly exposed wood planks on top of a concrete foundation, but she did notice one part of the house was more enclosed with more concrete. Behind the house was some red hills and in front, of course, was the blue lake Tali mentioned.

"That is a really nice spot you picked," Shepard mentioned as Tali moved to give Garrus a chance to see the picture. "How many rooms are there right now?"

"Just a living room and one bathroom," the quarian replied. "At this point, I'm building a kitchen and will eventually building two bedrooms and another bathroom. Once the electricity and the plumbing is set up, it'll officially become liveable."

"Not a bad progress so far," said Garrus as he nodded with approval while looking at the picture. "How long do you think it'll take for you to complete the house?"

"That depends on how fast we get materials," Tali replied. "What you're looking at here is six months worth of work. It's not much, but it'll be worth it once it's completed and livable."

"I'm sure it will be," agreed Shepard. "Say, how are the other Admirals doing?"

"Not too bad, they've been busy with rebuilding just like everyone else on Rannoch," Tali mentioned. "Which reminds me; Raan and Koris knew I was coming to see you and they send their regards and well wishes, Shepard."

"When you see them next, tell them I said the same."

"Tali," Garrus spoke up. "I've been wonder, and I'm hopefully that this is something that you can share, but... how is the progress going with the geth?"

"Last we heard, you were working on restoring them, but politics have been getting in the way of the progress," Shepard mentioned.

"And they still are," Tali said. "In a way, I don't blame them considering the past, but... you think after the geth helped us that they should be given the chance."

"What if we got every species involved in the project rather than just the quarians?" Shepard suggested.

"I tried to push that idea, but well... you know how it is... the whole issue is such a mess anyway and it's so unfair. The whole thing really destroyed Legion's promise... if only the Crucible hadn't affected them..."

"I know..." Shepard sighed.

Tali realized what she said then and placed a hand on her commander's shoulder. "It's not your fault Shepard. I'm sure you didn't know what was going to happen that day."

"Did you still want to see the hamster-eh, Vinny?" Garrus quickly asked, knowing that this was a subject Tali didn't want to talk about.

"Sure," Tali replied before the two of them stood up.

"You two go on ahead," Shepard encouraged. "I'll catch up in a couple of minutes or so."

Tali nodded. "Okay Shepard."

With that, Tali followed Garrus to the master bedroom. Once they were out of sight, Shepard began to slowly get up from the recliner she was sitting on, using the coffee table as leverage. She was still feeling a little bit sore from her surgery nearly two months ago, but it was definitely an improvement compared to how she felt before the surgery.

From there, Shepard slowly walked towards the hallway. It took about three to four minutes for her to reach the door that led to the master bedroom. There, Garrus had turned around one of the chairs in the room so that it was facing the bed. On the bed, Tali sat in the middle of it in a lotus position while Vinny the hamster wondered about on the mattress.

"He's just as cute as I remember him," Tali mentioned as she used one finger to pet the top of the hamster's head.

"Yeah, he hasn't changed much since Shepard bought him on the Citadel," Garrus mentioned.

"Except the part where I'm training him to attack the eyeballs of our enemies," Shepard added.

Tali turned to gaze at Shepard. "Really?"

Shepard laugh. "Of course not. It's pretty much impossible, I'm guessing."

"Though I imagine that's one home defense method Zaeed would be proud of," Garrus mentioned. "Everyone expects a varren to attack, but who would see a hamster attack coming?"

"He'd be like, 'That's genius, Vakarian!'" Shepard exclaimed. "Anyway, Tali, when do you need to leave Earth to return to Rannoch?"

"Not for another two days," Tali said. "Why?"

"That's perfect because I was wondering if you want to stay overnight with us."

"Sure," Tali replied. "It'd give me more time to spend with the both of you. Aaaand it'll be an excuse for the three of us to watch ' _Fleet and Flotilla._ '"

Garrus and Shepard immediately looked at each other before they turned their attention back to Tali. "Well, we don't _have_ to watch ' _Fleet and Flotilla_ -'"

"Yes we do! It's a sleepover tradition for me and I won't take no for an answer. You know how wrong it would be to break any kind of tradition."

"As long as we can watch a movie of our choice after," said Garrus.

"I can definitely do that," Tali said. "We'll start watching right after dinner. And, um... there is one other request I have."

"What's that?" Shepard asked.

"After you two go to bed, can I borrow your home computer? I have this project that I need to work on, and I've been putting it off for a few days. I figured this would also be a good time to get it finished, if you don't mind of course."

"I don't see why not," Shepard said. "What's the project about?"

"Let's just say it's a secret project."

Assuming that it was a sensitive matter, Shepard nodded. "Understandable."

* * *

_Later that night..._

In the middle of the night, Shepard woke up and quickly realized how dry her throat was. Slowly, she turned onto her side and began to reach for the glass of water she usually kept next to her on the nightstand. However, upon cupping the glass in her hand, she realized how light it was. Looking at it, she saw the inevitable... the glass was empty.

"Damn it," she grumbled tiredly as she placed the glass back on the nightstand. For a brief moment, she thought to get Garrus to fill the glass for her, but the light snoring he was making clearly indicated that he was currently in a deep slumber.

Shepard could try to fall back asleep at this point, but she knew that it would take a while with this dry throat. Deciding to go ahead and take care of it, Shepard slowly got herself off the bed, using the nightstand as leverage as she always did each time she got up. Once she was on her feet, she took the glass in her hand again before she slowly made her way out of the room.

Eventually, she reached the end of the hallway and was just beginning to start making a u-turn to the kitchen. Even before that, she noticed the soft, white glow of the computer screen reflecting off the living room walls.

' _Tali must still be working on that project,_ ' Shepard guessed. She then gazed at the digital clock that sat on the black side table in between the three-seater couch and the recliner, its numbers glowing in a bright blue color. ' _Two o'clock... that's pretty late._ '

Shepard turned her head back to Tali, who's back was turned to her as her fingers typed away on the keyboard in front of her. The computer showed off what looked like a document containing words that Tali typed out in what Shepard guessed was Khelish, the primary language of the quarian people.

"Don't stay up too late, Tali," Shepard advised.

That apparently nearly scared the crap out of Tali as she suddenly jumped up and spun around to look at Shepard. A amused smirk played on the human's face, especially as she noticed how wide Tali's glowing eyes were even from behind her purple-tinted helmet.

It look a moment for Tali to get a hold of herself before speaking. "I, I won't, Shepard. Besides, I'm almost done with this... project."

Shepard resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow, noticing how nervous Tali sounded just now. ' _Maybe she's more tired than she realizes,_ ' she concluded.

Shepard decided to ignore it as she took a moment to fill her glass with water. Once she was done, she left the kitchen and began to make another u-turn back into the hallway. "Goodnight, Tali."

"Goodnight, Shepard."

* * *

_Hours after sunrise..._

Shepard and Garrus stood at the front door as they bid Tali goodbye. Tali had received a message from Admrial Raan this morning, asking her and the other quarians who traveled with her to come back home to Rannoch.

"Looks like we're returning a day early... seems like our work is never-ending," Tali mentioned.

"But it'll be worth it once your work on Rannoch is complete," Garrus reminded her.

Tali nodded. "That alone motivates many of us. Speaking of home, you two should come to Rannoch someday, you know, once my house is fully built and liveable."

"Send us a message when the house is ready," said Shepard. "Then we can arrange a trip from there."

"I'm looking forward to it already," Tali replied, feeling happy at the thought. She then quickly hugged the both of them. "Goodbye."

"Bye Tali," Shepard and Garrus said nearly at the same time.

From there, Tali began heading to the waiting skycar that was in front of the cabin. Jumping into the passenger side next to the quarian driver, she closed the door behind her before waving goodbye to them again. Shepard and Garrus also waved just as the skycar drove away.

That afternoon, Garrus was doing some work on the computer in the living room while Shepard was watching a cooking show on the TV right behind him. Since Shepard figured that Garrus needed to focus on his work, neither of them said a word to each other for a couple of hours since Garrus got on the computer.

However, at one point, Garrus suddenly started to laugh almost uncontrollably. Shepard ended up pausing the show with her omni-tool before turning her attention to the turian with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't realize the work Primarch Victus sent to you was so funny," Shepard said.

"No, no," Garrus managed to say as he tried to calm himself down. "I just finished my work, but then I noticed a document I never saw before and I took a look at it. Then I realized that it was in another language, so I translated it with my omni-tool."

Shepard almost gasped as she realized what Garrus found. "That sounds like the project Tali was working on last night. Garrus, I think that's classified information you're looking at. Hopefully you didn't uncover anything too sensitive."

"Under normal circumstances, I would've stopped reading and let Tali know she accidentally saved her document on our computer. Shepard... this document is very, _very_ far from classified... let's just say that I'm sure there's a certain group of civilians that are reading this and are waiting for the latest update."

Shepard felt hesitant at first, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wouldn't hurt to look. She trusted Garrus when he said that the document was far from classified. And if his humorous reaction was anything to go by, it couldn't be that bad.

Knowing that she was probably going to regret it later, she let Garrus send her the document through omni-tool. It was in the turian language when she received it, so Shepard translated it to her own language. The display ended up seeing the middle of the document, so Shepard read the first couple of paragraphs she saw...

_Seeing her face beyond the helmet was like seeing sunshine for the first time after spending so long in the dark... it was magnificent, beautiful. Even her pale eyes glowed like the shining sun at the break of dawn. Reaching his talon to her face, he traced the black lines that donned her forehead, and she smiled warmly at his touch._

_Wanting to get closer to him, Shalei reached her hands to Bellicus' neck, caressing them with gentle tenderness as he felt his arms wrap around her slender waist. She then began to lean up to him, her lips parted as she brought them closer to his plated mouth..._

It took all of Shepard's strength to not laugh upon realizing exactly what this 'project' Tali mentioned was about. "Is this... _Fleet and Flotilla_ fanfiction?"

"Indeed it is!" confirmed Garrus. "And if you read further down, the situation between Shalei and Bellicus gets... pretty hot and heavy. Let's just say the last words she wrote were, 'It was totally worth it.'"

"Oh my," Shepard replied. "You mean to tell me you pretty much read the whole thing already?"

"... Yes. It's actually not too bad. Tali actually has some pretty good writing talent... cheesy, but good. Suddenly, I feel bad for laughing, but you have to admit, some of the dialogue is cheesy."

"I feel bad because we probably read something Tali didn't want us to read... it's not like she wanted to mention it to us. She did say it was a secret project after all."

"True... ah crap, now I feel like a jerk."

"Don't worry, we'll just-"

That was when a vid-call alert went off on Shepard's omni-tool. She looked down at it to see who was calling.

"Well, well, speak of the devil," Shepard said as she answered the call, soon seeing Tali's face, so to speak. "Hey Tali, what's up?"

"Shepard! Thank goodness you answered!" Tali called out.

Shepard suddenly became concerned. "Is everything all right, Tali?"

"Sort of... it's more embarrassing than anything. You know that 'secret project' I mentioned I was working on last night?"

"You mean the _Fleet and Flotilla_ fanfiction Garrus discovered?" Shepard decided to admit.

"Oh boy..." Garrus grumbled nearly as he placed his hand over his face.

Tali immediately placed her hand over the glass of her helmet. "Keelah... I was hoping you wouldn't discover it... naturally Garrus the bosh'tet would snoop into my files!"

"Sorry!" Garrus called out. "My curiosity got the best of me. And... that's the first time you've ever called me a bosh'tet. I'm not sure where I should be honored or insulted."

"Anyway, I meant to save it on my disc, but I accidentally saved it onto your computer instead. I just made the discovery after we settled onto the ship."

"Let me guess," said Shepard. "You want us to send it to you."

"Yes, please. I was hoping to make some edits on the way home before I publish it."

"I'll send it right now," said Garrus as he sent the file to her through omni-tool.

"Thanks Garrus," Tali replied. "Sorry I called you a bosh'tet."

"You're forgiven," he assured her.

Tali seemed to relax once she got the message alert. Shepard smiled. "If it makes you feel better, Tali, your secret hobby is safe with me."

"Good," Tali said. "The last thing I need right now is for the other Admirals to find out what I do in my spare time."

"You have talent, Tali," Shepard assured her. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Oh I know that... you should see the wonderful reviews I get from the readers all across the universe! However, there's a thin line between writing a fictional novel and a fanfic... it's... hard to explain, but you pretty much have to be a lover of fanfiction and the particular fandom to understand."

"Oh so you're saying that I'm not part of the club?" Shepard joked.

"You just might be if you ever read my story. If you're ever interested, it's called, ' _When Lovers Unite,_ ' under the author name, ' _MrsBellicus._ '"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "MrsBellicus?"

"Oh hush!" Tali answered. "Anyway, thanks for sending me the document. I really appreciate it. Also, I hope we see each other again soon."

"Same here," Shepard said.

"And then we can watch the musical version of _Fleet and Flotilla_ when that time comes!"

"... We'll see."


	29. Antics of a Feline

"Felix is updated on his shots and he's as healthy as can be," announced a human veterinarian during a check-up visit at the pet hospital.

Early this morning, Shepard and Garrus brought Felix in for the scheduled appointment. However, according to Shepard, fighting husks was a breeze compared to trying to put Felix in the carrier. The scratches on her hands were proof of that.

Then there was the car ride to the vet where Felix kept meowing all the way through. Shepard tried to comfort Felix by attempted to pet him, but after he bit her more than a few times, she decided that she had enough of trying. Oddly enough, Felix became shy and quiet as soon as they walked into the waiting room. Once they were in the exam room, they let him out of the carrier. With the exception of him pacing around with his tail in between his legs, he was cooperative when the vet and her assistant examined him. The assistant mentioned how cute, quiet, and patient Felix was.

 _If only you saw him when we tried to put him in the carrier,_ Shepard ended up thinking.

After the vet gave Felix a clean bill of health, Shepard nodded with approval. "That's good to know."

"Out of curiosity," Garrus spoke up. "We've been wondering for some time if there was a way to find out approximately how old he is."

"Oh I can definitely tell you," the vet replied. "Based on the condition of his teeth and fur, I'd put him around four to five years old."

"And I always assumed he was about two," Shepard admitted. "He acts so young."

The vet then wrote a couple of notes down on her datapad before speaking again. "Just continue with his basic home care, and I would like to see him for another check up in one year. Let me know if you have any health concerns for Felix in the future."

"Will do."

From there, they left the vet office and headed home. Once Felix was released from his cage in the living room, he let out a small hiss at his owners before he ran off towards the kitchen where his food dishes were located.

"Wow," Garrus said. "I know we've taken him to the vet before, but every time we do, I swear he resents us."

"Most animals tend to react like that every time they are taken to the vet," Shepard mentioned. "I don't blame Felix one bit... I hate hospitals too."

"Do you think he'll get revenge on us for the next day or two after this?"

"Nah," Shepard said. "He'll get over it in about an hour."

* * *

_The next morning..._

"Meow! Meow! Nyao! Maw! Nyah!"

Garrus groaned a little as he opened his eyes at the sound of Felix's persistent meowing on the other side of the bedroom door. He then shifted a bit to get a look at his clock to see what time it was.

 _5:54 am? It's too early... maybe if I ignore him, he'll stop._ From there, Garrus closed his eyes and attempted to go back to sleep.

"Meow! Mrow! Nyah! Nyaoooo!"

Once again, Garrus groaned as he turned himself onto his stomach, turning his head away from the direction of the door. Maybe if he slept this way, it would be easier for him to drown out the noise. He was sure that all Felix wanted was attention anyway. It wouldn't be the first time his cat woke him up just to be petted.

_Shrrrriiiiik! Shrrriik! Shrriik! Shrriiik!_

That snapped Garrus's eyes opened as the chilling sound of a cat's nails scratching against the door reached his eyes and practically pierced itself into the core of his brain... it was _that_ irritating.

He then heard Shepard groan a bit before she spoke more clearly. "Go see what he wants," she mumbled.

Garrus groaned a little, realizing that Felix had just won the battle. Still feeling groggy, the turian slowly got up from his bed before he walked over to the door. Upon opening it, he looked down at the black furry animal, who gazed up at him with his golden eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Felix then turned and headed a couple of feet towards the hallway. For a couple of seconds, Garrus thought that this was another one of Felix's antics with him just wanting his owners to keep the door open (more than likely so he got the chance to sit on top of the cage that belonged to Vinny in his seemingly endless quest to finally have the hamster for lunch). However, Felix soon turned back around to look at the turian before letting out another 'meow.'

All right, so apparently Felix did want something. Deciding to oblige the cat, Garrus began to follow Felix through the hallway. "I swear, if you brought in another dead bird, I'm not going to be happy," Garrus grumbled.

However, that wasn't the case. Felix led him straight into the kitchen and towards the corner behind the small table and next to the first counter that also contained the dishwasher. Garrus then gazed at that corner just as Felix sat down and stared up at him again.

His food and water dishes were empty.

"Oh I see," Garrus said, now feeling bad for thinking that the cat only wanted the kind of attention that would make him feel like a pampered king. Bending down, Garrus took the dishes and brought them over to sink, taking a moment to wash them out. Once that was done, he filled one dish with fresh, cool water before filling the other with canned soft food. The whole time, Felix sat nearby and waited patiently.

Once it was all ready, Garrus took the dishes off the counter and placed it on the mat. "Here you go, Felix," he said.

He backed away just as Felix walked towards his fresh food. As always before he ate, he sniffed at his food for a few moments. However, just as Garrus had expected him to start eating, Felix suddenly turned around and darted right out of the kitchen and into the living room.

 _All that and he doesn't even bother to dig in right away,_ Garrus sighed. He then decided to go take a shower now that he was up anyway...

A couple of hours later, Garrus decided to make Shepard some breakfast. Since they started living together, Shepard had learned quite a few turian cuisines so that she can cook meals for him. Garrus, however, wasn't much of a cook to begin with, so the best thing he can really make out of all human cuisines are sandwiches and steaks on the grill. And apparently, according to Shepard, he can make great homemade pancakes, which was actually the first human food he learned to make with success.

Garrus was about halfway done with cooking when Shepard came out of the bedroom and headed towards the living room. "That smells good!" she announced

"It's almost ready," Garrus mentioned. "Go sit down and I'll serve it to you momentarily."

"Before I do," Shepard began to say. "Have you seen my new slippers?"

"You mean the white ones with the weird pointy ears and the creepy beady eyes? What was it? Bunny slippers? Why do you wear those anyway?"

By now, Shepard was at the threshold between the living room and the kitchen. She leaned against the frame of the entry and folded her arms in front of her. "Yeah, those ones. And why not? Something wrong with them?"

Garrus saw that Shepard was eying him. Despite the amused smirk on her face, her eyes were most definitely saying, 'I dare you to mention more about it.' "No!" he called out. "I mean, um... it's just that they... eh... okay, I never pictured you wearing them at all."

"Hey," she started, still keeping the smirk on her face. "I'm Commander Shepard, hero of the Citadel, conqueror of the Collectors, and savior of the galaxy. And if I want to wear bunny slippers, then goddammit, that's what I'm going to do."

Garrus immediately mock saluted her right after flipping a pancake on the skillet. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good then," Shepard chuckled as she turned and headed towards her recliner. She then noticed something between the recliner and the couch. "Oh! I found the slippers!"

"Glad you found them," Garrus said.

However, moments later, just as Garrus finished cooking the last pancake, he suddenly heard Shepard scream, "Oh God NO!"

"What's wrong?!" Garrus called out as he ran into the living room.

By now, Shepard was holding up one of the slippers in her hand. "Damn cat coughed up a hairball into my slipper... and I stepped on it!"

"Ugh," Garrus groaned. "Sorry that happened, honey."

Shepard sighed. "Well, luckily I'm wearing socks, but... ugh. Now I feel gross. I'm going to go take a bath."

"Don't you want to eat first?" Garrus asked as he helped her take her socks off before helping her get up from the recliner.

"After what just happened, I just lost my appetite. Just... pack them away and I'll have them for lunch later."

"Okay," Garrus said with a sigh. "But you do realize that they won't be as good after a couple of hours."

"I know, but at least they won't go to waste."

From there, Shepard began heading down the hallway and towards the bedroom. Halfway there, she realized something... the bedroom door was wide open.

"Shit!" she called out and tried to move as fast as her injured legs could take her. It took a minute, but soon she reached the entrance and peered right towards the far corner opposite of the door where the black 5-draw dresser was.

Sure enough, there was Felix sitting right on top of the hamster cage, batting his paw through the door's narrow opening. Shepard didn't miss how poor Vinny was hiding in his little hidey-hole at the corner of his cage.

" _Felix!_ " Shepard called out firmly in her best commander voice. "Get away from Vinny's cage!"

Felix's response was to immediately hiss before jumping off the cage and then ran out of the bedroom.

Around noon, while Shepard went outside to looking over the growing flower garden, Garrus got down to some work. Luckily, there wasn't a lot to do, but one of the bigger assignments for the day was to write out a report to Primarch Victus about his last visit to the Toronto refugee camp, which he went to just a few days ago. Garrus had his previously written notes in front of him in order to make the assignment easier to write out.

Still, once he was halfway through the report, Garrus suddenly felt thirsty. Deciding to take a quick break, Garrus got up from his chair. He then took a moment to stretch himself out before heading to the kitchen to grab himself a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator. He then returned to the living room and almost stopped as soon as he entered.

Sitting right on top of the keyboard on the work desk was Felix. Clearly he chose to take a nap right in what Shepard called 'the warm spot.'

"Hey!" Garrus called out. "Felix, get off of there!"

The closer Garrus got to the desk, the more he noticed how Felix's body was leaning on the keys, causing the computer to type out random letter, numbers, and symbols in what Shepard would call, 'jibberish.'

"Felix, off!" Garrus commanded as he pushed the cat gently off the keyboard.

Felix reluctantly obliged, but just as he jumped off the keyboard, he ended up pressing the _last_ button Garrus had hoped he didn't end up pressing on...

" _Message Sent,"_ the computer announced.

Garrus stood there in stunned silence for a few moments before finally saying out loud, "This is going to be embarrassing to explain to Victus..."

A half hour later, Garrus finished sending out the report (again) along with an apology over the accidentally-sent one. Around the same time, Shepard came in and decided to serve herself the pancakes Garrus made for her earlier.

"This is exactly why I spend the extra money for real maple syrup," Shepard mentioned once she started digging in. "It makes four-hour old pancakes tastes better."

"I told you it wouldn't be as good as it is fresh off the skillet," Garrus pointed out.

"Hey, I'm the one who decided to take the risk here," Shepard said. "I was always the risk taker, remember?"

Garrus had to chuckle a little at that. "Yes you are. Half the time, I surprised I didn't die from a heart attack during the war, though I'm sure it's cut down at least ten years of my life."

"At least you don't have to worry about getting gray hairs," Shepard mentioned. "You turians are lucky that you don't have to worry about that."

"Yeah, but our plates get cracked and brittle the older we get," Garrus said. "They're like your human wrinkles, but I imagine it's not as smooth."

"Huh," Shepard hummed as she thought of something. "Suddenly, I realized that I really am going to be a old lady one of these days. I imagine when we were both soldiers, we didn't expect ourselves to live for long. Every day could've been our last. Now with this domestic life... there really is a future to think about."

"I know how it can start," Garrus said, his mandibles flaring into a grin.

Thinking he had something romantic in mind, Shepard leaned forward in her chair and gave him a warm smile. "Tell me, Mr. Vakarian," she said in her most sensual voice.

Garrus tilted his head a little. "By changing your shirt and putting on a new one. You got some maple syrup on your shirt."

Shepard's eyes briefly widened for a moment before she gazed down at her shirt. Sure enough, there was a small glob of syrup right on the right collar bone area. She groaned at that. "Dammit, this is a new shirt too."

She took a moment to stand up, using the table as support. "I'll be back."

"I'll be here if you need me," Garrus replied.

A couple of minutes later, Shepard threw her old shirt in the laundry hamper before going in the closet. She decided to settle with her black N7 t-shirt, figuring that she wasn't going to go out today anyway. Upon putting the shirt on, however, she couldn't help but notice some of the cat hair on the front... which was strange since it was not only recently cleaned, but Felix hardly ever came into the bedroom.

"Hrm..." Shepard grumbled. She then called out, "Garrus!"

"Yeah?" Garrus replied from the living room.

"Where did you put the lint roller?"

"It should be in the master bathroom in the medicine cabinet!"

"Thanks!"

Shepard walked over to the bathroom. As Garrus mentioned, she went into the medicine cabinet and took out the lint roller. Removing the stick protector, she then proceeded to roll the roller over her shirt until she was sure that all of Felix's hair was taken off.

"That's better," Shepard said as she placed the protector back on and returned the roller in the cabinet. She then made her way back to the bedroom. Upon entering, she heard a small 'squee!' prompting her to turn her heard to where her hamster's cage was.

Unsurprisingly, there was Felix sitting on top of the cage trying to get to the smaller animal.

"Dammit Felix!" she called out, realizing that she accidentally left the bedroom door open again. "Get off Vinny's cage!"

Just liked earlier, Felix let out a hiss before jumping off and running out of the room. With a sigh, Shepard walked over to the cage and looked in. Vinny slightly poked his head out from his little hidey-hole at the corner once he was sure that Felix was gone.

"Next time he does that, little guy," Shepard said. "Go for the eyes."

A half hour later, Shepard decided to go outside and read a book that Kasumi had sent to her not too long ago while Garrus decided to stay indoors and watch some TV. Since there was nothing else on, he ended up watching a documentary about Earth animal species from the perspective of a salarian zoologist.

Then, a message alert beeped on Garrus's omni-tool, drawing him away from the current talks about lions. Garrus gazed down at his wrist and saw that the message was from Victus. Sitting up from the couch, Garrus opened up the message before reading its content;

_Hello Garrus,_

_I just received your message about your last visit to the Toronto camp. I also wanted to inform you that we'll be sending out supplies for the dextro agriculture groups that formed on Earth recently. I've already sent messages to the individuals leaders of each group so they know that they're coming. I've also told them to contact you directly if any issues arise. However, if something comes up that you feel needs my attention, do let me know._

_~Primach Victus_

_PS – You gave me a good laugh earlier with the first message I assume was accidentally sent to me._

Garrus sighed a little. _At least that worked out... sort of._

Garrus then shut off his omni-tool before lying back down on the couch to continue watching the documentary. It was at that moment when Felix chose to jump on his chest. Garrus went to turn his head, thinking that Felix would be facing him and giving him an innocent look with those big golden eyes... only to come face to face with Felix's rear end as he turned himself around to start kneeding on his owner's shirt.

Garrus groaned a little. "Why do cats always do that...?"

* * *

That night, Shepard chose to serve fish for dinner, which ended up being served on the coffee table since Shepard mentioned that the old human movie, _Grumpy Old Men_ , was playing on TV tonight. Garrus remembered how the lake in their backyard reminded Shepard of the movie, and once the lake in the movie was shown, he can see why.

When the movie was over, Garrus had a couple of comments. "Everything back then looked so... primitive."

Shepard chuckled. "Well, the movie was from the 1990's after all."

"True... and are old human men actually _that_ grumpy?"

"Sometimes, but not always," Shepard replied. "But it's a comedy movie, so you have to expect things to be a bit exaggerated."

"That's good then," Garrus replied. "Now I don't have to look forward to meeting old human men who call me a 'yutz' or a 'moron.'"

"There's another portion of our future to think about," Shepard said, remembering their earlier conversation while eating lunch.

It was at that moment when Felix jumped onto the coffee table. At any other time, Shepard would have kicked him off. However, the moment he started sniffing her leftover salmon, and Shepard decided then that it wouldn't hurt to let him have a few bites.

"I'm surprised you haven't kicked him off yet," mentioned Garrus.

Shepard reached over to gently pet Felix's back a little. "I know, but, well... a few bites of salmon won't hurt as long as he's not going anywhere near your dextro plate."

Garrus shrugged a little. "True."

"Besides," Shepard said. "With the kind of day he's give us both today, I think the best thing to do is to at least let him do one thing he wants to do that we normally wouldn't let him do on any other day."

Garrus tilted his head a little. "You mean to tell me that you 'give up?'"

"Not at all," Shepard said. "Sometimes, you have to pick a new strategy. I'm letting Felix on the coffee table and eating my leftover salmon because at least then, I know he won't do any other thing he's not supposed to do for the rest of the day. But don't worry, either way, I won't let him near Vinny or dextro food."

"That's good."

Shepard continued to pet Felix as a thought came to her. "You know... he can act like a spoiled king sometimes, but I'm glad he followed you home. Sure, we could live without a cat, but you must admit, life is definitely interesting with one around the house. I think it's the little things... like how they can sit at the window perch and just enjoy the view all day long."

"Or how they chase their own shadows," added Garrus.

"Or how soft their fur is when you pet them and the way they purr when they're happy."

"Or how they know if your happy, sad, or even angry."

"Or how they manage to sleep for an entire day."

"Or how they give you 'presents' even they are just dead birds."

"Actually, I learned today that cats giving us those 'presents' is not what we think. They're actually trying to teach us how to hunt for food and the 'presents' is supposed to be the first lesson."

Garrus turned his head to Shepard and gave her an astonished look. "Really?"

"Yeah, I read it in that cat behavior book Kasumi sent me today," Shepard said. "But there's a reason for it. They do it because they care about us so much that they want to make sure that we don't go hungry."

"Huh," Garrus hummed as he turned to Felix. "So despite him acting like a spoiled king, he really does love us."

"It sure looks like it," Shepard said. "And it made me realize something else."

"What's that?"

"... He's a bit _too_ clever. He decides to wait an entire day to get his revenge on us for taking him to the vet yesterday."

That made Garrus laugh. "Something tells me he's learned a thing or two from us."

"You know what... I think you're right."


	30. The Tattoo

A beeping sound woke Shepard up from her slumber. Lightly groaning as she stretched her arms above her, she turned her head to the left towards the nightstand next to her side of the bed. Opening only her right eye, she saw the familiar flash of her omni-tool's message alert.

Briefly, Shepard looked at the digital clock next to the omni-tool: 6:30am.

"Who sent me a message this early in the morning?" she grumbled, her voice groggy. She wasn't expecting any messages from the likes of Admiral Hackett any time soon. Even if it was someone like Hackett who messaged her, it would've been sent as a 'priority.' That wasn't the case at the moment.

As Shepard reached a hand to her omni-tool, she heard the unmistakeable sound of the bathroom shower running. _Sounds like Garrus got up early... again,_ she thought. Especially in these days as civilians, Garrus had been much better about getting up earlier in the morning than she was.

Once she put the omni-tool on, Shepard pressed the 'on' button to activate it. She then pressed a few more commands before she finally saw the message that woke her up;

_Hey Shepard,_

_This may come as a surprise (sort of), but I'm actually in Vancouver doing some boring Alliance business. That should be done in four days. After that, I'm not due back to Grissom (still in a temp facility in London) for another two days, so I figured this will be an excuse to swing by your new place for once. It's about time... if you don't mind of course. It'd be nice to see you again._

_Jack_

_PS – Might want to prepare... I still bring Eezo everywhere with me._

_PSS – Also bringing a tattoo gun. Thought you might want me to touch up on the wings tattoo I gave you back at your place on the Citadel._

Shepard raised an eyebrow, thinking of the time this was sent to her. "It has to be about 3:30 in the morning where Jack is," Shepard said out loud.

She then looked at the time the message was set and found her answer there;

_Message Sent: 11:03pm EST_

_Message Received: 6:28am EST_

"Hrm," Shepard groaned. "Looks like I'm going to have to get that fixed."

From there, Shepard pressed the reply button before typing out her own message;

_Hey Jack,_

_I figured the Alliance was keeping you busy. Anyway, Garrus and I would love to have you and Eezo over. I think you will find the place nice and cozy if anything. I'll see you in four days._

_Shepard_

_PS – Sorry for the late message; omni-tool is on the slow side right now._

Just as Shepard sent the message, the door to the master bathroom opened. Turning her head, she saw Garrus emerging from the small room, fully dressed in a black and blue tunic and matching pants. He then glanced over to where Shepard was before his mandibles flared into a soft smile.

"You're up early," he greeted as he began to approach her.

"My omni-tool woke me up," Shepard mentioned.

Garrus leaned down briefly to nuzzle his mouthplate on top of her head before responding. "Funny thing... my omni-tool woke me up this morning, too."

"Oh?" Shepard uttered with interest. "What for?"

"I got a message from Victus. Of course, he's going to be at Solana's wedding next week, but he was hoping that I would leave for Palaven a few days early. Turns out I'm invited to a banquet for Councilor Sparatus, a 'welcome home' gathering apparently now that the councilors' universal tour on the Normandy is all but over. I asked about you attending, but there was a strict invitation list that was apparently made by his family, and, well... sorry honey, but you weren't on the list."

Shepard shrugged. "Honestly, I'm fine with it. Councilor Sparatus and I never saw eye to eye anyway, especially after..." She then lifted both hands to air quote with her fingers. Even after all this time, she could still hear the turian councilor's condescending words, 'Ah yes, 'Reapers.''

"I'm surprised you didn't rub that in his face after the Reapers really did show up," Garrus pointed out.

"You know... as much as I was tempted, I chose to be a professional about it once the meeting commenced. Plus, he was the one who sent me to Menae in the first place to pick up the Primarch. If it wasn't for that, I would've never ran into you."

"... True."

Shepard then chuckled a little. "Now that I think about it, that banquet would have been the perfect opportunity to bring it up." Her next words came out almost sounding innocent. "A shame I wasn't invited."

Garrus laughed. "I have a feeling that it may be for the best."

"You're probably right." Shepard decided to change the subject then. "Anyway, when do you leave for Palaven?"

"I have to be there in four days. I'm going to trade my original transport ticket to one that leaves three days from now instead of the planned six days."

Shepard frowned. "Four days. Damn... if I had known, I would've postponed Jack's visit."

"I assume she was the one who sent you the message that woke you up?" Garrus guessed.

Shepard nodded. "Yeah, she's in Vancouver for business and she wanted to visit in four days. Again, if I had known..."

"Don't worry about it," Garrus assured her with a wave of his hand. "I assume there's no way she can find a way out of Vancouver early?"

"Again, she's on business and won't be free for four days," Shepard said. "Unless her business trip ends early, I have a feeling that you two won't see each other this time around."

Garrus sighed. "Too bad. If I had a choice between this banquet and having Jack visit, I would definitely choose the latter in a heartbeat... even if her tattoos give me a headache every time I see them. Unfortunately, unless it's an absolute emergency, I have to go to this banquet."

"I know," Shepard said. She then gazed up at him. "You're not really into tattoos, are you?"

"Not when they're all over the place like hers are," Garrus replied. "I like the one that you have, though. Nice and simple."

"That's good to know because she plans to bring her tattoo gun," she mentioned. "She wants to touch-up that very tattoo. I've been overdue for it for a while after the war ended. I wonder if I should get it in a different shade of blue... or even get a new one in addition."

"Whatever you want to do," Garrus said. "Either way, I'm sure there will be another time when Jack comes over. Are we still planning that Normandy reunion?"

"Yeah, but who knows when that will happen. Hopefully, one of these days."

"And hopefully, we can find some room for everyone like last time if it's going to be a sleepover again. I seem to remember how we had plenty of places for them to sleep at the Citadel. Here, it's a little... different."

"We can always get those air mattresses," Shepard suggested. "But then that wouldn't really work for Wrex or Grunt, would it? But we'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now, I have to plan ahead, especially since Jack is bringing Eezo along."

Garrus's eyes widened at that. "Eezo's coming?"

Shepard patted his arm. "Don't worry, I'll put Felix in a safe place. If anything, I'll ask Meela and Trey to look after him since they'll be watching him when we leave for Solana's wedding anyway."

Garrus sighed with relief. "Good... last thing I need is to get a vid-call telling me that a pet varren had Felix for lunch."

* * *

_Four Days Later..._

"So... first, you thought your room up back on the Normandy wasn't good enough for you. Now your huge apartment back on the Citadel wasn't good enough?" The words were followed by a laugh, indicating that the person speaking was only kidding. "Still, Joker wasn't lying when he said you guys got yourself a nice place."

Shepard had to smile as she turned to Jack, who she just invited inside a few moments ago. The two of them were currently sitting in the living room on the large black couch facing the TV. Just off to the left, Jack's pet varren, Eezo was surprisingly relaxed on the hardwood floor, though his head was still up and gazing at his unfamiliar surroundings. Jack had assured Shepard that she gave the varren a good workout prior to arriving here. Either way, Shepard had already brought her cat Felix and her space hamster Vinny over to Meela and Trey's house to keep them both safe.

"Believe it or not, Garrus was the one who found this place while I was still in the hospital," the commander pointed out.

Jack chuckled in response. "And here I thought turians didn't like the cold."

"Oh you should've seen him this past winter," Shepard began to mentioned. "He was bundled up like he was ready to climb Mount Everest. It didn't help when our heater broke a few times when Garrus tried to calibrate the damn thing."

"I bet you two kept each other nice and cozy, if you know what I mean." Jack ended that sentence with a knowing grin.

Shepard rolled her eyes, but she laughed anyway. "You could say that."

Jack took a moment to lean herself back against the couch before lifting her right leg, soon letting one side of her ankle rest against the top of her left knee. "Too bad the bonehead couldn't stick around long enough for me to see his ugly face."

Shepard quickly brushed that comment off as it was something Jack and Garrus always joked about back during the Cerberus days... once Jack was hiding away less and less from the rest of the crew of course. "It's not like we haven't seen you in years or anything."

"Hey, I'm just fu-...ugh, teasing with you."

Shepard laughed. "Still trying to curb your language?"

Jack rolled her eyes. "Yeah, shockingly. I figured it wouldn't hurt to get into the habit even without the brats around."

Shepard smiled. "I'm proud of you, Jack. First you become a mentor to young, bright students, and now this."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

Suddenly, to both of their surprise, Eezo jumped in the empty spot on the couch between them, his weight causing them both to bounce in their seats for a brief moment. Eezo then looked around, panting with excitement like a dog ready to run like the wind.

"Well," Jack began to say as she got up from the couch. "I think this is now a good time to go outside and play fetch with the big guy... unless you want him to start running around and destroying Garrus's gun collection I noticed above the fireplace. _Tsk tsk tsk_ , I imagine that he would not be thrilled about that when he gets back from Palaven."

"I'll have to agree on that then," Shepard said.

"Come to think of it, I think your apartment had a lot more running room last time," Jack mentioned. "Also, the sooner we get him tired out again, the sooner I can get your tattoo touched up."

"Sounds good."

The two of them soon began to head outside into the backyard with Eezo following them. Before that, Jack took out a large cooking skillet that she used to play fetch in place of a frisbee as it was much more durable for a varren.

"So aside from sitting around and doing nothing, what's up?" Jack asked after she threw the skillet across the field. Immediately, Eezo chased after it.

"Well aside from that, Garrus and I have been helping out with a community project in the town, building new homes for refugees not too far from here. Garrus also runs a small business on the side in the garage, mainly modifying and fixing guns. He still acts as an advisor for Primarch Victus."

By then, Eezo had returned with the skillet and dropped it by Shepard's foot. Though it took some effort, Shepard managed to reach down to pick it up before tossing throwing it forward. Once more, Eezo chased after it.

"Garrus also took up painting while I took up gardening, believe it or not."

Naturally, Jack was amused by that. "Really? I mean, I can kind of see Garrus painting, but you? Gardening? You couldn't even keep your fish alive back on the Normandy!"

"Har, har," Shepard grumbled. "Besides, that only happened once."

"I thought it was twice," Jack pointed out. "Even EDI said that."

"Well, her calculations were wrong."

"Sure, Shepard, whatever you say."

By now, Eezo returned, and Jack took her turn in tossing the skillet. Once Eezo ran off again, Shepard continued. "I don't know if you know, but Garrus is going to be an uncle soon."

"That's news to me," Jack said. There was a brief pause before she continued. "You know, I feel like I actually want to say something smartass to that, but... I got nothing."

"That's a shock," Shepard replied. She then grinned"Those kids must be rubbing off on you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, is that why you guys are going to Palaven? Because Garrus's sister is having a kid?"

"Actually it's because she's getting married, or rather bonded in turian culture."

"Sounds... nice... though I can imagine meeting the rest of the family is going to be a pain in the ass."

"His Dad's side is pretty nice. I'm not sure about his Mom's side, however, but I guess I'll know in a few days."

"That's one good thing about me not having a family... I get to avoid the damn drama."

The two continued to play fetch with Eezo for another twenty minutes. During most of that time, Jack updated Shepard on her students and Grissom Academy itself. They were still rebuilding the original station, but it was going to be a while before it was completed.

Once they were back inside the cabin, Eezo immediately jumped on the couch to take a nap. At least now, that will give the two a chance to touch-up Shepard's blue wings tattoo on her back. Shepard laid on top of her bed, pulling herself to the edge so that Jack could reach her most easily while sitting

"Hey," Jack said as she got her tattoo gun and ink ready. "The tattoo damage is not as bad as you made it out to be. Just a few scruffs here and there, but I should have it done in a jiffy."

"How long is a jiffy?" Shepard asked.

"Twenty minutes at the most."

"At least that didn't mean more than an hour."

"I could if I wanted to," Jack chuckled. "But luckily for you, I'm in a pretty good mood today."

"I'd hate to think what would happen if we were doing this while you were in a bad mood."

"I'd probably etch a unicorn around those wings."

"...You wouldn't dare."

Jack only chuckled at that in response.

It turned out that the job only lasted just under fifteen minutes. Once Jack was done, Shepard had her back turned to a mirror and her neck craned, getting a look at Jack's work. The wings looked as though they were inked onto her skin for the very first time.

"Thanks for not putting a unicorn on my back," Shepard laughed.

"No problem," Jack replied as she placed a bandage over the tattoo. "Now hopefully, you remember what I told you about aftercare."

"Keep the bandage on for a minimum of two hours, wash the area upon removal with lukewarm water and mild antibacterial soap with your hands, then pat dry with a clean towel. Then add a light amount of ointment everyday for three to five days."

Jack patted her on the shoulder before she placed a bandage over her work. "Good soldier."

A thought came to Shepard then. It was something she had thought to do for quite a while, but with her recovery, it never seemed like the right time. Plus, she wanted to wait until Jack was available to get it done as she trusted her more to be cool with this decision.

Now was a good time as any. She just hoped that Garrus was all right with it, especially since she wanted to surprise him.

"Hey Jack," Shepard began. "How much time do you have before you have to head out?"

Jack briefly looked at the time on her omni-tool before answering. "Not for another six hours. Why?"

"...I think I like to get a new tattoo," Shepard said. "Something simple right above the wings."

"Sure, what would you like?"

* * *

Three days later, Shepard's ship landed at the port in Cipritine. Shepard wasn't feeling as nervous as she was the last time she and Garrus came to his home world to see his family. Then again, she was going to meet his Mom's side of the family soon enough. She could only hope that meeting them would go as well as it did with his Dad's side of the family.

At least, for right now, she could relax for a day or two before the whole family arrived at the Vakarian home. From there, it was going to be a long week.

When Garrus had left for Palaven a few days ago, he took most of what Shepard needed to bring ahead of time. That way, Shepard didn't have to bring too much along with her. Just one rolling luggage was just enough to take whatever else she needed to bring. That included a wedding gift for Solana and her future bondmate, Xarius. She wasn't sure if giving gifts was a tradition at turian weddings, but she figured that the gesture wouldn't hurt at the very least.

It took a little time for Shepard to enter the station terminal, having to go through customs and receiving her enviro-suit, breathing mask, and sunblock for the trip. Once that was all done, it wasn't long before she spotted Garrus and his father, Castis, in the waiting area.

Immediately, Garrus went to meet her halfway. Once they reached each other, Garrus leaned down to gently press his forehead to hers. Shepard didn't hesitate to return the gesture. She was sure that the people were around them were currently gawking at this intimate moment, but neither one of them cared.

"Hey," Shepard greeted with a small smile.

"Hey," Garrus replied, his mandibles twitching a little in his own smile. "How was the trip?"

"Boring as hell."

Garrus grinned more and spoke a little more quietly so that only Shepard heard him. "That's because I wasn't around to make things more... interesting."

Shepard couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. "... Maybe."

They then pulled away just as Castis came over to greet them. "Hello, Shepard," he said. "How was the trip?"

"A little boring, but I'm glad to be here now," Shepard responded. She didn't miss how Garrus tried to stiffen his laughter at her words since she left out how she really felt about the ride.

"Well, we better get going," Castis suggested. "Traffic gets bad around this time of day, so the sooner we leave, the sooner we can get home."

"Do you want to me to pull that for you?" Garrus asked her as he pointed at her luggage.

Shepard thought about it for a moment before deciding to hand over the rolling luggage. "Sure, why not?"

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were now leaving the spaceport and headed towards the Vakarian household. The traffic was heavy, but so far, it was moving at a pretty decent pace.

"Crowded, but not as bad as I thought it would be," Castis said to no one in particular. "Not as bad as when Garrus and Solana were kids. They made trips more of a hassle than it should've been."

Shepard chuckled. "How bad was it?"

"It wasn't as bad as he makes it out to be," Garrus said. "Solana would listen to her horrible music pretty loudly, even with headphones. I would tell her to stop playing them, but she would sometimes respond by smacking me, so we get into a smacking fight. Naturally, we both complained to our parents until Dad threatened to turn the car around and head back home, even if we were hours away from home."

"And it kept going with every car ride until you left for basic training," Castis sighed. "I'm almost glad that's finally over."

"Almost?"

"... Okay, fully glad."

Shepard lightly laughed at the story, and soon decided to change the subject. "How was the banquet for Councilor Sparatus?"

"More boring than a reading session from the Hanar Poetry Club," said Garrus.

"Now son, don't joke like that," Castis replied. "You know it was a nice gathering, and we got to see many of our friends and colleagues who we haven't seen since before the war."

"Who said I was joking?" Garrus deadpanned.

"I think I get the picture," Shepard cut in while trying not to laugh at Garrus's response.

Soon enough, they arrived at the house and parked in the driveway. Garrus helped Shepard out of the skycar while Castis got her luggage out of the trunk.

Afterwards, as they approached the house, Shepard spoke up. "How has Solana been with her pregnancy?"

"She has her good days and bad days," Castis answered. "Today is definitely her good day mainly because she's looking forward to seeing you, Shepard."

"So she won't randomly throw a spatula at you if you say the wrong thing today," added Garrus.

Shepard gave Garrus an shocked look. "Did she really do that?"

"Actually, she only threw a pillow at Xarius the other day because he gave her the wrong flavored _budincă_. She then slammed the door and didn't come out until dinner. Trust me, we tried to coax her out, but nothing worked until Xarius made her favorite meal."

"Huh... looks like changed hormones and mood swings, not to mention cravings, is a common pregnancy symptom for both humans and turians.  Though isn't Solana being a little... extreme?"

"My wife was the same way when she was pregnant with both my children," Castis mentioned. "We think it might be hereditary. Though I wouldn't mention that to Solana right now, just in case."

"Noted."

Soon they were inside the house. "I'll go ahead and take your bags upstairs," Castis offered. "You two go ahead and rest up in the living room."

"Thank you," Shepard responded.

As Castis headed upstairs, Shepard and Garrus headed into the large living room, which looked to be a little less empty of furniture and items since Shepard was last here. The small shrine for Garrus's mother, Phaedria, still remained.

On the long, black couch in the living room that curved around in one corner, Solana sat right in the middle while watching a vid on the big screen in front of her. She had heard footsteps and turned to see who came in. Once she saw both Garrus and Shepard, she smiled at them.

"Shepard!" Solana called out. "It's good to see you again. I'd get up to greet you, but..." she looked down at her belly, which was of course, a little more prominent due to her growing child inside.

"That's quite all right," Shepard assured her as she walked over to where she sat. She then slowly sat down next to Solana. "I imagine you're very tired."

"I definitely am," Solana admitted. She then chuckled. "I have to admit though, I, eh... feel a bit grateful right about now."

"How so?" asked Garrus curiously.

"Well..." Solana chuckled again. "This morning, I got curious and researched what humans go through when they're pregnant."

"Oh no, you didn't!" Shepard called out, feeling a little horrified. "That must've traumatized you."

Solana shrugged. "Not really. However, I will say one thing; it looks so... messy."

"That it is..."

"And the way your bellies stretch is nothing short of amazing, especially when you're pregnant with more than one baby. Plus... nine months? That's such a long time!"

Shepard tilted her head at that. "How long does turian pregnancy last?"

"Six months. I'm four months now, so two to go."

"Lucky," Shepard grumbled.

"Where's Xarius?" Garrus suddenly asked.

"I sent him out to get me some _glacies cremorem_ ," Solana replied. "Saw a commercial for the new _cires fasole_ flavor so... you know."

Shepard chuckled. "I've had those moments too. I'll see something food-related I really like on a vid advertistment, and it'll pretty much be all I can think about until I get a taste of it."

"You ever send Garrus out to get them?" Solana

"Depends on her mood," mentioned Garrus.

"Oh!" Solana called out as though she just remembered something. "I almost forgot to tell you... both Uncle Gallus and Aunt Nelia called while you and Dad went to pick up Shepard."

"I remember Gallus," Shepard said. "That's your Dad's little brother, right?"

"That's right," Solana confirmed. "He, Aunt Aricia, and the rest of the family will be over tomorrow. They're looking forward to seeing you again, Shepard."

"That's nice to know they still like me," Shepard joked. She then became serious again. "Now, who's Aunt Nelia again?"

"Mom's sister," Garrus reminded her.

"She and cousin Tavius will be over in two days," Solana informed him. "Tavius will be bringing his wife and daughter with him too, so yeah, the house is going to be a little full."

"What about the remaining family? Mom's Aunt Crina and Dad's Uncle Dorus and Aunt Mirela?"

"They won't show until the day before the wedding," Solana replied. "I did tell Aunt Nelia about Shepard... I won't lie, she didn't look too thrilled during the vid-call."

"Hopefully because of the war and not because of Garrus and I," Shepard hoped. "Because I'd rather deal with it that way."

"I'm not too sure," Solana said honestly. "Then again, Aunt Nelia hasn't really been the same since Uncle Quintus died in the war... that's her bondmate. We also lost Mom and Aunt Nelia's brother, Uncle Jairus as well. The both of them, as well as Mom's death, happened within a one-year timeframe, so you can only imagine how much that took a toll on Aunt Nelia. In other words, try to be patient with her no matter what she says to you."

"Been doing that since I arrived here," Garrus try to say under his breath.

Solana eyed him, hearing that. "What?"

"Nothing!" Garrus called out, not wanting to dig himself a deeper hole.

Solana seemed to give her brother a smug look. "I thought so."

"I can't promise anything in case she crosses the line," Shepard said. "But I'll do my best."

Garrus leaned his back into the couch. "I have a feeling that this is going to be a long week..."

* * *

Later that night, Garrus had just finished dressing into his sleep clothes for the night. Just before he went to lie down in his bed, he heard the door to his room open. Turning around, he came face to face with Shepard, who was also dressed in her pajamas.

"Hey," he greeted.

Shepard smiled at him as she closed the door behind her. "Hey. I'm definitely ready for bed. It hasn't been that eventful, but with the trip and everything, I'm definitely tired."

"Yeah," Garrus replied. "And to think this is only the beginning of this trip, at least for you."

"Hmph," Shepard hummed. "Something tells me you're right. Hopefully this family reunion goes over well, especially with your Mom's side of the family."

"I'm sure once the actual bonding ceremony gets under way, it won't be too bad. Besides, my Dad's family loved you the last time you saw them. Even my cousin Caius's wife, Drenya, warmed up to you after a little time."

Shepard remembered Drenya. "Her father died in the First Contact War."

"Yeah," Garrus sighed.

The turian then leaned forward to embrace Shepard, who immediately returned the hug. "I missed you these last few days," he whispered to her. "Believe it or not, it feels like months since I left Earth."

Shepard laughed lightly. "I missed you too, Garrus. And I bet it was no fun these last few days with the Councilor's homecoming banquet and all."

"Definitely not," Garrus replied. He then pulled back a little to look at her face. "How was Jack's visit?"

"Not too bad," Shepard answered. "Not only did she touch up on my wings tattoo, but she also gave me a new one by my request."

Garrus's brow ridge raised up in surprise. "Really? I mean, I know you mentioned the possibility, but I didn't think you were serious."

"I didn't either until Jack came over... but I promise the tattoo is nothing that will give you a headache," Shepard laughed. She then began to take off her shirt before she tossed it on top of her traveling bag, leaving her in a beige color spaghetti-strapped tank top and her pajama pants.

In that moment, Garrus saw a slight change in Shepard's face. Her eyes still gleamed with happiness, but there was also a sense of nervousness, especially when she briefly bit her lower lip while taking a deep breath.

"If anything," Shepard began to say. "I can always have it removed if you don't like it."

"I'm sure I'll like it," Garrus assured her. "As long as you don't have... whatever the heck kind of hologram omni-tattoo Tali got that one time."

Shepard laughed. "If I remember correctly, it was a pretty bird made of rainbows flying out of the eye of a skull being held by the mouth of a thresher maw with a naked woman holding a sword on its back... though she never specifically said what species the woman was."

Garrus's blue eyes widened after that description. "The thought alone just gave me a headache."

Shepard became serious again. "But really, Garrus... I do hope you're okay with it. If not, again, I can always get it removed."

She then took a deep breath before turning around so that her mostly bare back was facing him. Garrus first noticed the wings tattoo on her shoulder blade, which looked much brighter as though it was brand new. He then shifted his eyes to get a look at her new tattoo.

There, staring right back at him was the familiar cobalt blue pattern of his colony markings made in the middle of her upper back between her shoulder blades.

Garrus found himself staring at the markings in silence for quite a while. That alone made Shepard nervous as she found herself wondering what he was thinking right now. Was this a mistake? Did this decision signify something that may have gone a step too far? Was there some cultural insult involved since she was human and not turian? Or was it an insult because she placed the tattoo on her back and not her face?

 _Dammit!_ she called out in her mind. _I should've done some research before I let Jack do this! Instead, I listened to my heart rather than my head_. _Great..._

Without turning her head to see Garrus's face, Shepard spoke up. "Well... what do you think?"

That seemed to get Garrus out of what ever phase he was in because then he took a couple of steps forward to cover the space between them. He then grabbed her shoulders and turned her around so that they faced each other. Shepard was about to say something, but she didn't get the chance before Garrus leaned forward to give her passionate kiss... well, as best as he could with his lack of lips, of course.

At first, Shepard was taken by surprise by his reaction. She soon let herself sink into the kiss before pressing her lips into his mouthplate and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her hands on the back of his neck.

They were like this for some time before they pulled back a little to catch their breath. They found themselves gazing into each other's eyes before Shepard whispered, "I assume you approve then."

Garrus murmured back. "Most definitely. And you know... suddenly I'm not feeling too tired just yet. How about you?"

Shepard chuckled. "I'm with you on that," she said before they shared another kiss...

Later that night after their lovemaking (which was as quiet as they could muster due to being in a house with other people in it), the two of them were resting in bed with Shepard's back turned to Garrus. She was asleep, but Garrus was still wide awake. For a long time, he found himself admiring her brand new tattoo with the two moons of Palaven outside brightening them up a little for him to see better.

Garrus didn't tell Shepard, but her decision to tattoo his markings on her back signified something for him. He never doubted Shepard's love for him, but this... this tattoo really sealed it for good... and that though alone made him truly happy.


	31. Back on Palaven

Two days after arriving safely in Cipritine, Shepard was feeling somewhat anxious. Of course, she knew that it was because the large Vakarian home she was staying in during her visit was going to soon be a bit crowded. Before now, it had only been just her, Garrus, Castis, Solana, and Xarius at the household. Yesterday was mostly spent talking about Solana's pregnancy as well as the upcoming bonding ceremony, the reason Shepard and Garrus were here on Palaven in the first place.

"It's been a little stressful," Solana admitted two evenings ago concerning the ceremony. "But in a way, I've been lucky. I have friends who had their bonding ceremonies come close to turning into disasters due to poor planning. With the exception of having to switch food catering company due to our previous choice suddenly going out of business, everything else is going well."

Shepard couldn't help but laugh then. "Plans going chaotic... sounds like that's another thing our respective species have in common when it comes to weddings... or bonding in your case."

The entirety of yesterday kept Shepard's mind off of one fact; she would soon be meeting the rest of the extended family. She tried to remind herself how well meeting Castis's brother and his family went months ago the last time she was on Palaven. They'd been very accepting of her then. Still, it didn't mean that it was going to help with meeting Garrus's mother's side of the family.

Shepard was starting to understand what Jack meant a few days ago when she mentioned how she was glad that having no family meant 'avoiding the damn drama.' The thought came to Shepard just after breakfast and she already wanted to make a break for it and find the nearest bar that served levo drinks.

"It'll be fine," Garrus tried to assure her when he realized how anxious she looked. "Just be yourself, and it'll be fine... just don't dance."

"...Laugh it up, Garrus."

It was just after lunch when Castis's brother Gallus and his wife Aricia arrived. Only their youngest son Arek arrived with them, but their other son, Caius, and his family would arrive within a couple of hours. This gave Arek the opportunity to sit with Garrus and Shepard at the small, round table in the kitchen and show off some blueprints that were made for the community housing project back on Earthrealm.

"I made these up myself last week," Arek mentioned as he unrolled one sheet that contained blue prints of three housing plans. "I remember your last message mentioning how your community was looking for a couple of new ideas for turian homes and at least one home made for a volus."

"I was told that there's a good chance that this one volus family at one of the camps will be moving into one of the homes," Shepard explained. "So of course, as I'm sure you're aware, we need one of the new homes to be built specifically for a volus."

"Volus homes tend to be pretty complex and not just because they need to be pressurized," Arek said. "They involve special care in making sure that everything, and I mean _everything,_ is perfectly built and crafted to last. All materials are also need to be specific ones, and they're don't come cheap. There's also building a pressure chamber at the doorway, windows with multiple panes, making sure they get every crevices..."

"Sounds like a pain the ass," quipped Garrus.

"Thankfully my coursework when learning architect included building volus homes. I've helped with personally building some of these homes around Cipritine, so I have the experience. As a matter of fact, you also need to make sure you have experience, licensed builders with a project such a this. One cannot afford mistakes in building a volus home. Even with the strict terms, volus do take preventive measures in case of accidental depressurization, including alarm systems, compartment doors that close off sections of the home that's breached..."

Arek suddenly felt a bit exhausted by the thought of the home and took a deep breath. "Okay Garrus, you got me... it _is_ a pain in the ass... so much that I _may_ consider volunteering my time on Earth to oversee the building process of this particular house. At least it would be for a good cause."

"And here I was just about to ask if you could come to Earth to help with this house," Shepard admitted with a chuckle. "Thank you Arek, I'm sure the community would appreciate this, especially the volus family we'll be building the home for. In the meantime, if it's all right, I'd like to scan the plan and send it to our housing project leader, Mr. Holden."

"Go right ahead," Arek encouraged.

It was not long after when Caius, his wife Drenya, and their two children Zorana and Calix arrived at the Vakarian home. Zorana and Calix were especially enthusiastic to see Shepard and Garrus again. Zorana even brought over the Blasto doll Shepard had given her when they first met. Already, the doll was slightly worn from wear and tear, but that was to be expected. Caius greeted the two just as friendly as last time. And this time, when Drenya greeted them, she didn't act as reserved as before. As a matter of fact, she gave the two a warm smiling upon saying hello.

With more people in the house now, the place seemed to get noisier by the minute. The adults talked amongst themselves while the two kids ran around and played between the house and the backyard. Multiple times, the kids insisted on feeling Solana's pregnant belly despite the fact that her skin was too thick to feel the baby kick.

Eventually, both Aricia and Drenya offered to prep dinner in order to let Solana rest. Solana appreciated it and the two women went into the kitchen to make tonight's supper. As for Shepard, Solana had already prepped her meal ahead of time and it just needed to be reheated in the oven ten minutes before dinner would be served.

At one point, Shepard turned to Garrus. "Is it usually this chaotic during family reunions?"

"Yup... it's definitely like old times, I can assure you," Garrus replied with a chuckle.

Eventually, Castis received a message from his nephew, Tavius Zaimis, letting the family know that he, his mother (Garrus's mother's sister), and his wife and daughter will be arriving at the house shortly. Hearing that announcement, nervousness suddenly fell over Shepard. She began to have the urge to start pacing back and forth through the living room, but the way her legs were right now, it was not going to provide the frantic-ness she was feeling right now. So instead, she stay seated and proceeded to wring her fingers.

Solana noticed this and said to Shepard, "If it helps, I'm anxious myself... and I've known these people for _years_."

Shepard gave a nervous laugh in response. "Well... at least you're a turian."

"But a pregnant turian who's about to be bonded," Solana reminded the commander.

Shepard took a deep breath. "Yeah, well... true... but I'd say you and I can both degree that fighting reapers is easier than this."

Solana laughed at that. "Very true."

"How's Xarius feeling about meeting your mom's side of the family?"

"He's just as nervous as we are," Solana answered.

And then, almost on cue, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the rest of the family. For some reason, that motivated Shepard to get up from her seat before slowly walking over to the couch Solana sat on. Once Shepard reached the couch, she sat next to Solana.

"Maybe if we both sat together, this meeting will be easier for the both of us to greet your family," Shepard figured.

"How so?" Solana asked with curiosity.

Shepard took a deep breath before she said, "No clue!"

"And here I thought you always had a plan," Solana pointed out.

"Well, yeah... when we're fighting husks, not meeting family."

Solana laughed as she patted Shepard's shoulder. "Let's try to relax. It'll be fine."

By then, their respective significant others joined them both on the couch just as Castis reached the front door to let the rest of the family inside. After opening the door, three adults and a child came inside. Although the two younger adults were very friendly in their greeting, Shepard immediately noted a tad bit of tension between Castis and the oldest of the three adult turians, the one she figured was Phaedria's younger sister, Nelia. Like Phaedria, Nelia also had dark silver plates over brown hide and her eyes were the color of amber. Unlike the Vakarian clan, Nelia's markings, along with the other two younger adults with her, had white colony marking fully painted on her chin, nose, and cheeks.

"How are you, Nelia?" Castis greeted gallantly.

"I've been fine," Nelia replied impassively.

They talked a bit more quietly before Nelia walked further inside the home. It didn't take her long to spot Garrus, Solana, and their respective significant others sitting on the couch. Once she established eye contact, Garrus and Xarius stood up while helping Shepard and Solana respectively onto their feet (though Shepard resisted at first).

It was Solana who decided to break the ice and greet the older woman first. "Aunt Nelia, how are you?" she asked with some forced elation as she approached the older woman.

Aunt and niece shared a brief hug before Nelia pulled back and looked Solana over. "My my... you almost look just like Phaedria when she was pregnant with you all those years ago. You're as lovely as ever, Solana."

Solana managed a smile and Shepard briefly could only wonder why Garrus's sister made a big deal over Nelia's visit. Nelia may seem reserved, but she didn't seem all that bad.

Soon, Solana turned her attention to her fiance. "This is Xarius Anagnos, my future bondmate. Xarius, this is my mother's sister, Aunt Nelia."

"It's nice to meet you," Xarius replied.

At this point, it was hard to tell how Nelia felt about the young turian... then again, despite knowing Garrus's expressions very well at this point, Shepard was still unsure how to read turian facial expressions at times. Either way, Nelia simply nodded to Xarius in response and said her hello before turning her attention to her nephew.

"Hi, Aunt Nelia," Garrus said.

Nelia ended up scratching the right side of her mandible. "I see you still get yourself in trouble."

Garrus forced a small chuckle as he rubbed his fingers over his scars. "Yeah... but I can promise you I've been better about it these days."

"My guess is that the Reaper War helped changed that."

"Eh... yeah. Anyway, Aunt Nelia," Garrus continued as he placed his hand on his mate's shoulder. "I'm sure you know who Commander Shepard is. Shepard, this is Aunt Nelia."

Once more, Nelia's stare was unreadable as she acknowledged Shepard. Still, she gave her a very slow nod before saying, "Hello."

"It's nice to meet you, Nelia," Shepard replied with respect.

By then, the other turians with her came to greet the family. They talked with Solana and Xarius before moving on. The young male greeted Garrus as the two shook hands. "It's been a long time, cousin. I've seen you've since decorated your face. Looks painful."

Garrus chuckled a gain. "It's a long story..." He then looked at his mate. "Shepard, this is my cousin, Tavius Zaimis, his wife Lela, and their daughter Accallia."

"It's an honor to meet you, Commander," Tavius greeting cheerfully.

"Same here," agreed Lela. "And I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other during our few days here. I imagine you have quite a lot of stories to tell."

"That depends on what you're asking," Shepard replied with a smile, feeling a bit relaxed now.

Before Shepard could acknowledge their daughter, Zorana and Calix had already started pulling Accallia away so that they could play together. Solana laughed at that. "I guess they've been eager to play with her. They haven't seen each other in a long time."

"I think the last time was... hmmm... I want to say it was three years ago during Aunt Phaedria's birthday," Lela guessed. She turned to Garrus. "Now that I think about it, I don't recall you being there."

"Three years ago was a busy time for me," Garrus mentioned as he realized that this was around the time he was starting out on Omega.

That was when everyone heard Aricia let everyone know that dinner was ready. That made Solana realize something as she headed to the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind waiting ten minutes while I heat up your food, Shepard."

"Not at all," Shepard replied as the group began to head to the dining room. "What did you make for me, anyway?"

"It's a casserole, but to be honest, I don't remember the full name of it," Solana said sincerely.

Shepard managed to smile. "I'm sure it'll be tasty."

It wasn't long before everyone sat down for dinner except Solana, who watched over Shepard's casserole in the kitchen. Apparently, this gave Nelia the opportunity to start grilling Xarius with tough questions. They first contained questions with answers Shepard knew about Xarius already... the fact that he was born on Digeris, both of his parents had died years ago, he had two sisters (one who died in the Reaper War), a cousin he was close with, and that cousin's parents raised him and his sisters. When asked about his job, Xarius mentioned his old job as a police officer on Digeris before he became an XO on a ship in the Reaper War, the very ship that rescued Solana and Castis. He then moved on to his current job as detective for the Cipritine Police Department.

"Is Solana planning to join your family, or will you been joining her family?"

"We decided that I'll be joining the Vakarian clan," Xarius replied.

"I see," was all Nelia said.

The entire time, Shepard was almost sure she saw how uncomfortable Xarius looked when grilled, not to mention the fact that he was stuttering more and more with each answer he gave. She made a note to herself to get the poor guy a case of Danorian beer when she had the chance during this trip.

Finally, Solana joined the family at the table. Before sitting down, she gave Shepard her plate of food, which was piping hot as it just came out of the oven.

"Thanks, Solana," Shepard said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Solana replied before she moved to the other side of the table to sit down.

Shepard gazed down at her plate. Upon seeing what her casserole was, it took all of Shepard's energy to not go into a fit of giggles. No, she was not making fun of Solana at all, though she imagined the poor turian would be embarrassed if she learned that the meal she just served Shepard wasn't exactly... age proper.

Then again, Shepard was looking forward to her meal. Not only did it look appetizing (then again, most anything looked appetizing when it wasn't MREs... unless it was alive), but she hadn't had tater tot casserole since she was a kid.

"What is that?" Garrus asked curiously as he gazed at the food on Shepard's plate.

"Tater tot casserole," Shepard replied. "I'll... tell you more about it later."

Now that Solana was back, Nelia seemed to have decided to move on to Shepard. "So, Commander... I'm aware that you worked with my nephew, but... how did the two of you meet?"

Shepard tilted her head a bit... at least Nelia was starting off with a decent question. "We met on the Citadel," she said. "We, eh, decided to work together for a common goal."

"Yes, I recall your days chasing after Saren," Nelia mentioned. "I also recalled how you had to break a couple of rules just to achieve that..."

Now she hit a small nerve, though it wasn't the first time someone mentioned it. Shepard kept her cool even while the tension around the table began to get a little thick. Even the three children at the table fell quiet.

"Well Nelia, yes, we did break the rules because it was necessary," Shepard said. "As you may recall, breaking those rules saved the Citadel _and_ the council."

Nelia huffed a bit at that. "Perhaps so... but it reminds me of the fact that most Spectres are the same... always breaking the rules to get their way..."

"So was Saren and look what he did... and all because of Reaper tech."

"Mom..." Tavius growled under his breath as he leaned over to his mother. "You promised you wouldn't pry..."

Not hearing him, Shepard continued. "May I remind you that I saved us three years worth of time before the Reapers came? That gave us time to prepare."

Nelia glared at Shepard. "What good did that do? No matter how much time you saved, the reapers _still_ came and-"

"That's enough!" Castis called out suddenly. "I won't have an argument take place at my own dinner table! And Nelia, I won't have you patronizing my children's mates under my roof. You understand?"

Nelia seemed to take a deep breath as though trying to control her anger. She ended up saying nothing as she decided to simply focus on her meal.

Still, despite the argument being stopped, not a single word was said between anyone for the rest of dinner...

Afterwards, Shepard was beginning to head outside when she heard her name being called. Turning around, she noticed Tavius's wife, Lela, catching up to her.

Lela gave Shepard a small smile before speaking just low enough for only the two of them to hear. "I apologize for what happened at the table, Shepard. Believe me when I say that I know exactly how you feel when it comes to Nelia."

Shepard frowned. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Lela. I assume she's still angry after the war. Most people are."

"It's not just that," Lela explained. "She's... always been critical. The Reaper War is no different from the usual."

That statement made Shepard curious. "I assume she didn't make it easy when you decided to bond with her son?"

Lela huffed at that. "That's an understatement. Still, we love each other so much that we were willing to defy Nelia. We at least got his father's blessing, so that was enough. Once we were bonded, Nelia was forced to accept us or else she would've lost her son forever, let alone never meeting her only grandchild. Still, even after Tavius and I were bonded, it took another few years before she began to fully accept me... and that was only after I had Accallia. I'm happy that she loves her granddaughter, but... sometimes, it makes me angry to know that all it took to win her over was to have a child. It's... hard to explain."

"I think I understand," Shepard said. "You want her to like you for you and not just because you happened to have her grandchild."

Lela nodded. "I'm glad someone understands."

"If I may ask," Shepard started. "Why is Nelia the way she is? I doubt it's because I'm a human after what you told me. She doesn't seem to like Xarius either."

"That's something that you might want to ask Tavius," Lela advised. "All I know is, Nelia always acted like she's the wise one in the family. I try not to add more to the drama, to be honest."

"I don't blame you," Shepard said.

"Back in the day, it was Aunt Phaedria who had a way to ease the tension. Now that she's no longer with us... well..."

Shepard nodded to her in understanding. "Hopefully, she'll ease up a bit once Solana's ceremony is underway."

Lela sighed. "One could only hope... but that's like hoping for pyjaks to fly..."

* * *

Later that night, both Shepard and Garrus had settled into their bed. Sleep had yet to come for either one of them, so they decided to kill some time until then...

"I'm sorry about this evening," Garrus sighed. "Aunt Nelia is usually stern, but... I've never seen her act _that_ cold before."

"Really?" Shepard questioned. "I was talking to her daughter-in-law after dinner and it sounds like she was always, well... critical."

"Well... I don't see the Zaimis family as often as I do the Vakarian clan," Garrus said. "So Lela might be right..."

"Great..." Shepard grumbled. "But I'll be honest. I'm not as mad about the things she said to _me_. I'm more mad about the way she grilled Xarius, like she was interrogating him. He's a great turian and definitely the kind Solana deserves. I can't understand why Nelia would seemingly have such reservations over a model turian."

"I don't understand it either," Garrus replied. "But it completely reminds me of her reservations against my own father when he and my mother were bonded. Solana and I never figured out why. Apparently, the tension was worse, at least until I was born."

"If you don't mind me asking," Shepard started. "Where's her husband in all of this?"

"Uncle Quintus passed away... during the Reaper War..."

"I see..."

Garrus gently wrapped his arm around Shepard's shoulder. "Listen, Shepard, try not to worry too much about Aunt Nelia. She and the rest of the Zaimis family will be leaving as soon as the day of the ceremony is over. We only have to deal with her for three more days."

"I'm not worried," Shepard pointed out. "I'm more worried about Xarius. I think we should go to the store tomorrow and get him a case of danorian beer... maybe _two_ cases. Poor guy deserves it after what he dealt with today... and _will_ deal with for the next couple of days..."

Garrus chuckled. "I'm sure he would appreciate that." He then learned forward to leave a brief turian kiss on the side of her head. "Right now, let's not think about it and get some sleep. We'll both feel better in the morning."

Shepard sighed as bit as she sunk further into the bed. "That's... usually how it goes..."

"I know... but it's better than staying up and worry about it all night. After all, we need our sleep."

"...I suppose that's true..."

* * *

The next morning – and two days before Solana and Xarius's ceremony, most of the Vakarian and Zaimis family had gone out. Most were for either errands, work, or helping to get the bonding ceremony ready. The only ones to remain at the house were Shepard, Garrus, Solana, and Xarius.

With the house mostly quiet, this gave Solana the chance to go over last minute details of her upcoming ceremony. At one point, she and Shepard were sitting in the living room with the television turned on while Garrus and Xarius were outside enjoying some cold drinks and discussing past police work and the difference between C-Sec and the Cipritine Police Department.

"Hey Shepard," Solana said as she pointed at something in a magazine she was looking at. "What do you think of this mix of colors?"

Shepard gazed at the color scheme Solana pointed to – a mixture of white, red, sky blue, navy blue, and pastel yellow. It wasn't hard on the eyes, but it wasn't something that she would use for her own wedding.

"That's not bad," Shepard said. "It's unique for sure."

"I was thinking the same thing," Solana agreed.

"What do you plan to do with those colors?" Shepard asked her.

"Well tonight, Xarius and I were going to buy the decorations for the party after the ceremony. Usually, turian have their post-ceremony gathering at the venue where the bonding takes place, but Xarius and I decided it would be nicer to have it here at home."

"That sounds really nice," Shepard said. "Hopefully the weather permits everyone to enjoy the festivities outside."

Solana smiled. "That's why Dad and Uncle Gallus went out today to get a large tent just in case that happens. I don't mind rain, usually, but at least the tent will protect us."

"Oh good. Now my poor, delicate human skin will be more protected even with this sunblock five-thousand lathered on."

That made Solana laugh. "I'm surprised by how resilient you are against our sun. Most humans usually turn red after five minutes outside."

Shepard sighed a little. "Let's just say there's a little tech in me that helps me out at times."

It was then that the front door to the house opened and Nelia stepped in. She carried in her hand what looked like a bag of groceries. She took a moment to place the bags on the kitchen counter before turning to spot Shepard and Solana in the living room.

"Oh Solana, I wanted to ask you," Nelia started as she approached her. "Are you planning to use the stoned tablet for the ceremony?"

Solana nodded. "Yes, we are. I already have it cleaned and ready to go. Xarius will bring it over to the priest tomorrow morning."

That got Shepard curious. "What's the stoned tablet for?"

"It's an ancient family heirloom passed on from mother to daughter whenever the daughter becomes bonded," Solana explained. "They contain inscriptions of blessings that the one performing the ceremony reads to the couple. Each one is unique from family to family. Ours is called the Kadoyan Ceremonial Tablet. Kadoyan was actually my mother's family name before she became Vakarian."

"That sounds nice," Shepard replied sincerely. "What happens when the mother doesn't have a daughter?"

"Then it's usually passed on to the oldest niece."

Solana was going to explain more, but then Nelia cut in, her attention now turned to Shepard. "I'm surprised you're even interested in any of our traditions."

Shepard was about to respond, but then Solana spoke first. "Shepard has always been interested in all cultures and their customs."

"...I see."

There was no doubt on Shepard's mind that those words were said in a condescending tone, but chose not to say anything for now. Still, Solana turned a page in the magazine she was holding and pointed to a picture of what looked like wildflowers. "Shepard, what do you think of these for decorating the guest tables with?"

Nelia huffed at that. "What does a _human_ know about Palaven flowers?"

"Stop it, Aunt Nelia!" Solana yelled out suddenly as she stood up from her seat after slamming the book down on the coffee table. "You've been nothing but critical ever since you got here! I don't know what your reservations are, but Xarius and Shepard have done nothing to you!"

"I want you to be happy, Solana," Nelia replied calmly. "You're my only niece and I've always considered you like my own daughter. But just like your mother, you've lowered your standards by planning to bond with _that_ kind of turian!"

"Does it really matter who I bond with?! I figured that you'd at least want me to bond with a respectable turian! If you're so worried about my mate's reputation, then look on the bright side! At least I'm not planning to share my life with a bare-face!"

Nelia seemed to think about this for a brief moment before she turned her head to Shepard. "Hmph... I suppose you might be right. Then again, at least you didn't tie yourself to a supposed human 'hero' of the galaxy like your brother has."

 _Oh... HELL no!_ Shepard yelled out in her head. With all the strength she could muster, she stood up from her seat and glared at Nelia. Nelia, however, wasn't about to be intimidated and was able to stand her ground.

"I was going to stay out of this," Shepard said as calmly as possible. "But now that you've brought me into this, I'm throwing caution to the wind. I'm usually very humble about my actions in the Reaper War, but just for you, I'll say this... if it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be standing here arguing right now. We'd all be husks or marauders instead!"

That was when Solana realized something. "Aunt Nelia, if this is about Uncle Quintus, that is _not_ Shepard's fault and neither is losing Uncle Jarius and Aunt Kacia!"

Nelia whirled in Solana's direction and pointed her finger at her. "Don't you EVER bring your family up in that tone again, young lady, you _understand_?!"

"What is going on?!" Garrus's voice yelled out from nearby. The three women turned their heads and noticed Garrus and Xarius just coming inside the house after hearing yelling from outside.

Nelia glared at both her niece and nephew before declaring in a angry tone, "You're _both_ making a big mistake with your lives!" From there, she stormed off and headed to her guest room.

Garrus rolled his eyes once Nelia was out of earshot. "Funny, I thought the biggest mistake of my life was joining C-Sec..."

The statement would've been funny at another time, but no one missed how upset Solana clearly was over what just happened. Her body visibly shaking like a leaf, Xarius took a few steps forward towards her before placing his arm around her shoulders.

"You okay?" Xarius asked his future bondmate with concern.

Solana shook her head. Her voice was quiet as she said, "The only two reasons I invited Aunt Nelia to the ceremony was, one, to not cause anymore unnecessary drama. She would've caused a fuss if I had only invited Tavius, Lela, and Accallia. And two, my mother would've wanted it. Despite being who she is, my mother loved her little sister..."

The mix of what just happened, and knowing that her mother wouldn't be here physically for her ceremony, Solana found herself keening as she covered her face with her hands. In response, Xarius pulled her close to him and let her keen in his shoulder.

Shepard frowned as she turned her attention to Garrus. She shook her own head. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea for me to attend if Nelia was going to make a fuss about my presence here. I shouldn't have come..."

"It's not your fault, sweetie," Garrus tried to assure her.

"I knew it was bound to happen inevitably... after all, turian-human relationships aren't all that common... but now that it has..." Shepard sighed as she began to head up to the room they were staying in. "I'm feeling tired suddenly. We'll talk about this later."

Garrus could only watch in silence as his mate headed upstairs. A part of him wanted to go after her, but at the same, he knew that she would want him to comfort his sister at a time like this. With that in mind, he turned around and joined Xarius in supporting Solana.


	32. Solana's Big Day

_**One day before Solana and Xarius's bonding ceremony...** _

Early in the morning, Garrus and his father Castis were the first two to get out of bed in the household. Castis was at the kitchen table with a bunch of datapads lying around. Usually, Castis was very organized with his datapads, so it was a surprise to Garrus, upon entering the kitchen to get a glass of water, to see the equipment carelessly strewn about. Just five years ago, if Garrus was the one with a table like that, Castis would've scolded him for being a messy turian and how all turians should take pride in their organizing skills.

Despite his father being much more relaxed these days, there was a part of Garrus who wanted to scold his dad over his mess just get back at him for those years of annoyance. However, the scowl on Castis's face told Garrus that perhaps it was better _not_ to get his petty revenge today.

"Dad?" Garrus soon dared himself to say.

"What?!" Castis yelled out as he looked up, but quickly calmed down upon realizing his outburst at his son. He took a deep breath before saying, "Sorry, Garrus. You... eh..."

"Startled you?" the younger of the two guessed.

Whether true or not, Castis wasn't planning to admit it anytime soon. Instead, he said, "I just got a vid-call from Councilor Sparatus a half hour ago. He won't be making it to the bonding ceremony after all."

"Aw, that's too bad..." Garrus replied, feigning disappointment.

"He said there was an 'emergency,' but didn't bother to specify what it was," Castis explained. Then he grumbled his next words. "Probably meeting with his mistress..."

That last sentence surprised Garrus. Usually, Castis was much more respectable of those in higher power, so this kind of insult towards the councilor was new to him. "Why Dad," the younger turian started. "I never knew you felt that way about our councilor."

"Now's not the time to joke, Garrus," Castis grumbled in annoyance as he looked over his datapads. "Your sister has her bonding ceremony tomorrow and I still have to make sure the remaining guests arrive and-"

"Dad... breathe. Don't stress yourself out."

Realizing his son was right, Castis let himself take a deep breath. "Sorry... to be honest, this whole thing with Nelia has been bothering me ever since she arrived here. I know Solana invited her as a way to honor her mother, but, well..."

Castis then looked up at Garrus. "Sit down... I think it's time you know the whole story. It's not remarkable, but I was hoping to avoid the subject for as long as possible." Garrus sat down in front of his father at the table before the older man continued. "I'm sure you realize by now that Nelia and I never cared for each other."

"Your tension with Aunt Nelia has always been like an open book," Garrus pointed out.

"Nelia always believed that the Kadoyan clan should pride themselves in remaining as a high-class family. Us Vakarians have always been high-class, but we're only a step lower than the Kadoyan clan. That one little step automatically makes Nelia believe that the Vakarian clan are beneath them. It's a very old, traditional way of thinking."

"I don't recall Grandpa Garrus and Grandma Malia feeling any resentment towards any of us Vakarians over the years."

"You're right," Castis replied. "Your maternal grandparents never had any ill-will towards us. Your grandfather was especially proud when your mother insisted on naming you after him. The old way of thinking came from your Great Aunt Acaterina. Nelia spent a lot of time with her growing up, and it seems as though those old traditions were ingrained in her.

"To Nelia, it doesn't matter how respectable a turian is... if they weren't equal to the Kadoyan clan or higher, they mean nothing to them... unless they were high-ranking politicians. She thought your mother could do better when she bonded with me. They were close up until that point..."

Now Garrus could kind of understand Nelia's way of thinking, one that he most definitely didn't agree it. It especially explained why she felt some resentment towards Xarius despite him being a respectable turian. To her, the Anagnos clan were beneath her.

Castis sighed afterwards. "I don't like to speak ill of the dead... but all of this made me realize how glad I am that your mother's Aunt Acaterina won't be at the ceremony physically. She would've given Nelia a run for her money when it comes to creating drama."

"Do you think that's why Aunt Acaterina never married?"

"...I suppose."

That made Garrus chuckle. "At least Tavius didn't 'pass' those old traditions down as I'm sure Nelia tried to teach him that."

"Luckily, Tavius looked up to your mother very much growing up," Castis pointed out. He then took a deep breath a bit over another thought. "Sometimes, I can't help but think that there was also some resentment from Nelia when it came to Phaedria. You see, Nelia had this idea that your mother was more dotted on by their parents than she was. She probably thought that she had to work harder to be what she believes to be a model, female turian... but don't take my word for it, that's just from what I've observed over the years."

Garrus sighed. "Well that explains her feelings towards Xarius, but what about Shepard? Aunt Nelia didn't exactly say anything kind about her being human going by what she said yesterday..."

"Which is strange because after Xarius told me what happened yesterday, Nelia never showed any ill-will towards any species even after the Relay 314 Incident... up until now," the older turian explained. "If I had to guess, son, it would be one of two things... either she resents Shepard for not doing more in the Reaper War, or, well... I hate to say it, but it may also be because of your relationship with her... when you think about it, if she thinks _Xarius_ is not good enough for Solana due to his clan ranking, well..."

Garrus's mandibles clicked against his face. It was no surprise that he and Shepard received resentment over their relationship, but there was something about a family member possibly being against them that hurt more. "Yeah..." was all he ended up saying.

Castis gazed at his son. "I'm sorry I never told you about this. Your mother never wanted to talk about this to you kids. She didn't want Aunt Nelia to be shown in a bad light, but I personally think you both deserve to know now that you're adults. I'll deal with your mother pulling on my mandible when my time comes."

Garrus chuckled a little at that. "I'm sure of that. But if it's okay, I prefer it if you talked to Solana over what you just told me."

The mention of Solana brought out another sigh from Castis. "Don't tell your sister this, but after really thinking over it, there are times when I wish that she and Xarius waited until after their had the baby to have their bonding ceremony. It would probably be less stress on Solana. But they both insisted that they have the ceremony before the baby came, so..."

That made Garrus's own mandibles click a bit, especially upon seeing the stress in his father's face. "Is there anything you want me to help you with today?"

"The only thing I ask of your, Garrus, is to keep the peace between Shepard and Nelia," Castis requested.

Garrus nodded. "I've give it a shot. I can't promise anything though... you know how Shepard can get when someone offends her or anyone she cares about."

Castis smiled for the first time that morning. "That I know..."

* * *

"Tomorrow is supposed to be a happy day!" Solana shouted from the living room later that afternoon. "Why must planning this ceremony be so stressful?!" By now, the living room was cluttered with boxes and folded chairs and tables that were all to go outside soon to set up the after-ceremony gathering.

Shepard wasn't sure if it would work, but she hoped her next words would comfort Solana a little bit. "If it helps a teeny bit, prepping for human weddings is just like this, too."

"In that case," Solana started as she pointed at Shepard. "I want to see you and my brother bond, or get married, soon! And on top of that, I'd like to see you have a baby with him!"

That made Shepard and Garrus immediately gazed up at Solana, unsure of what to think. After a moment, Solana's eyes seemed to go wide as though she just realized what she just said. Nearby, Xarius's face seemed to scrunch up as much as his plated face could at the thought of his future brother-in-law and his human girlfriend having a biological child together.

"Is... that... even possible for a turian and a human?" he said almost carefully.

"No, biology would never cooperate," Garrus pointed out. "Though I admit... I sometimes do wonder what a human-turian baby would look like if biology _did_ work out in our favor."

"Probably something out of a horror movie..." Solana said slowly.

"Like Frankenstein's Monster," Shepard added.

"Who?"

"Old human horror classic," Shepard started to explain. "Basically, a mad scientist created a living creature by taking different body parts from different corpses and puts them together to make one being."

"Oh... ew," Solana uttered in disgust. "Well, um... thinking about it now, well... even if it _was_ possible, I don't quite think its chances of survival are even close to high. I mean, think about... with our dextro diet and your levo diet, can you imagine how awful that child's dietary needs would be? Poor thing would either get an allergic reaction at the first bite or starve to death due to not getting the right nutrition no matter what they ate...

"Speaking of diets, I should call the caterer to make sure the levo cuisines are on the menu," Solana ended.

Xarius laughed. "All that and she's reminded to call the caterer."

"At least she's concerned about _my_ dietary needs," Shepard pointed out.

"True," Xarius said. "As well as a few of our other levo guests."

"Oh? Anyone I know?"

"I don't think so," Solana started. "Two of them are asaris who I work with at the hospital. We'll also have two salarians, one who works with Xarius and another who I work with at the hospital. Also, two elcors."

"Elcors?" Shepard asked in a bit of surprise.

"Oh, a friend of mine and his wife from when Garrus and I went to school on the Citadel. I remained in contact with him after I came back to Palaven and he went back to Dekuuna. They're really sweet and kind and I made sure the tent Dad and Uncle Gallus rented yesterday was big enough for the both of them to fit in with the other guests."

"That's really nice."

"Yeah. Oh, Shepard, I wanted to ask you," Solana started, feeling a bit anxious suddenly. "You'll have to blame the hormones for thinking this way, but... yesterday, you said that you shouldn't have come here as you felt that it would cause more trouble..."

Shepard frowned. "I said that more out of frustration with Nelia than anything," she assured her. "I really do want to be here for your ceremony, Solana. But if there's even a possibility that Nelia is going to throw a fit over my presence, the last thing I want to do is ruin your special day."

"I understand," Solana said. "But if it helps, I did talk to Tavius this morning about placating his mother once the ceremony takes place. He doesn't think it'll be a problem because after yesterday, as you know, he had a _really_ big talk with her about her behavior, though he didn't tell me what they said exactly. But just in case, I'll also make sure that her table is separate from yours if it helps."

Shepard smiled. "The only thing that's important is that you and Xarius have a wonderful time and day to always remember... a day filled with happiness and joy."

"Thank you, Shepard," Solana replied. "I never told you this, but... I'm very honored that you're here to attend my ceremony. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Solana," Garrus started suddenly after listening to the whole conversation. "That was _my_ job to convince Shepard to not skip out on your bonding ceremony."

"Yeah, well..." Solana replied. She then pointed to the direction of the kitchen. "I took your job. Your new job now is to go in the kitchen and fetch all of us some lunch."

That got a hearty laugh from Shepard.

* * *

The day of the bonding ceremony finally arrived. Naturally, there was a little chaos in the Vakarian household as they began preparations for the ceremony at a nearby villa in the city. Yesterday evening, Xarius's sister, cousin, aunt, and uncle arrived in Palaven. They spent the evening with them having dinner and discussing tomorrow's ceremony. Afterwards, despite Castis's insistence that they stay in the Vakarian home, the Anagnos clan left to stay at the nearby hotel in the city.

Thankfully, unlike earlier that morning, the evening was peaceful. Then again, after Tavius and his family came home earlier that day, Garrus didn't hesitate to tell him what happened between Shepard, Solana, and Nelia. Upon hearing the whole story, Tavius immediately sought out his mother and the two spent over an hour speaking to each other in Nelia's room. At times, there was what sounded like shouting, but no one could hear what was being said.

Whatever happened in the room had an affect. Nelia remained mostly quiet for the rest of the day once she and her son stepped out of the room. All Tavius said about it was that they had the kind of talk that was a long-time coming.

That morning, Shepard was a little surprise to realize that Xarius remained in the Vakarian house on the day of the ceremony. Then again, she was used to the human custom of the future wedded couple separating the night before to avoid seeing each other before the wedding. Apparently, that was not part of turian tradition as Garrus explained. As a matter of fact, it was bad luck for the two bonding turians to separate for too long on the day of their ceremony.

"Boy, you and I are gonna have a problem when it comes time for our wedding," Shepard joked to him. That made Garrus laugh.

Personally, Shepard wasn't one who was interested in fashion. She always described her style as 'practical.' But upon seeing Solana after she emerged from her room, Shepard thought that the ceremonial dress she was wearing was one of the most beautiful turian clothing she ever saw. Every piece was a solid color consisting of a royal blue colored shawl over a white dress shirt, a long royal blue skirt that reached her ankles, and a black belt going around her waist and just under her growing belly with a circled silver buckle in the middle. On her feet were a pair of white boots with blue lines going up the sides and her hands were covered in blue fingerless gloves. The shawl she was wearing also had a connected scarf at both ends of the shoulders and went over the top of her head, leaving her face and the back of her head exposed.

Aunt Aricia smiled upon seeing her niece. "You look lovely, my dear," she said.

"I couldn't agree more," added Drenya.

The rest of the family complimented Solana, but soon fell silent when Nelia approached her niece. Nelia soon stood a few feet away and looked her up and down. Meanwhile, Solana stood in her place, her face neutral and her head held high as though she was ready for her aunt to make a condescending comment. Shepard didn't blame Solana for that kind of pessimism after what happened two mornings ago.

Soon, to everyone's surprise, Nelia smiled at her niece. "You looked just like your mother on the day of her bonding ceremony. I'm sure if she was here today, she would've been so proud of you."

Shepard could've swore she heard a collective sigh of relief in the room. Solana herself took a deep breath and managed a smile. "Thank you, Aunt Nelia. That means a lot to me."

Nelia seemed to want to say more, but instead opted to step forward and embrace her niece. The hug was slow and careful, and perhaps there was a bit of awkwardness from Solana's side, but either way, the younger turian returned the hug. It didn't last long before Nelia pulled back before rejoining the rest of the awaiting family.

Solana then approached Shepard before she took a step forward and gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you're here today, Shepard. And thank you... not just for watching out for my brother all these years, but if you hadn't saved the galaxy, this day would've never happened."

"It wasn't just me, you know," Shepard reminded her with a smile as they pulled away from the hug.

Solana smiled. "Yeah, that's true. But still, I'll always be grateful to you. I kind of can't help but think this way sometimes, you know?"

Shepard nodded in understanding. "I know."

At that point, Solana turned to both her brother and father. Garrus was the first to step forward and hug his sister. "Hard to believe you're getting bonded. And here I thought you'd remain a spinster for the rest of your life," he joked as he stepped away.

"Oh, shut up," Solana deadpanned as she gave her brother a light slap on his arm. "Only _you_ would be a smartass on _my_ big day. Remind me to do the same when _your_ big day comes."

That only made Garrus laugh, at least briefly. He then turned serious. "But really, Sol... you've worked hard these past few years. You deserve to be happy. I'm proud of you and I'm honor to be your brother."

Solana smiled at Garrus. "Thanks... and I'm honored to be your sister."

From there, Solana turned to Castis, who stood tall with his chest a bit puffed out with what was clearly pride. Neither father nor daughter hesitated to hug each other.

"I'm so proud of you, Solana," Castis said.

"Thanks, Dad," Solana replied with happiness.

By then, Xarius stepped out and joined the rest of the clan in the living room. He opted for wearing a navy blue turian military dress with a button-down shirt, slacks, black boots, and full black gloves. The embellishments and buckles of his black belt were in silver and well polished.

"This thing is tighter than I imagined," Xarius complained as he pulled on the collar of his shirt. "Either I gained a little weight or I'm _that_ nervous."

Solana smiled as she approached her future bondmate. "There's nothing to be nervous about. We're only going to our bonding ceremony."

"I know, but I can't help it," Xarius pointed out. Still, he smiled as he looked at Solana. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look?"

"Only a thousand times," Solana chuckled. "But don't let that stop you."

That was when Uncle Gallus spoke up. "I think it's time for us to head to the villa. I imagine the guests are waiting as we speak."

From there, the family left the home and headed to the waiting skycars. It didn't take them long to reach downtown Cipritine and to where the villa was located. The villa itself reminded Shepard of a greenhouse with it's glass house filled with various plants and colorful flowers. The house was temperature controlled for the comfort of both the guests and plants inside. The ground was a forest green with flat gray stones serving as walkways. The seats for the guests were made of dark gray granite but were lined with white pillow seats for better comfort. At the very front were two more stoned seats facing each other and designated for the bonding couple. A matching table stood in between the two chairs. A tall green hedge stood behind the table with just enough for the priest to stand in between and shorter hedges lined either side of it, all blooming with different colored wildflowers.

Upon arrival, as directed by the workers in the villa, Solana and Xarius waited in a separate small area while their families and friends gathered in the main villa.

"Victus," Shepard greeted as soon as she spotted the Primarch. "It's good to see you again."

"Same here, Commander," Victus replied. "I hope Palaven's been treating you well."

Shepard smiled. "I admit, it has been for the most part."

"I feel the same way sometimes," Victus admitted. He then turned his attention to his adviser and his voice became serious. "Vakarian, what happened to that refugee report I ordered two weeks ago?"

Hearing that, especially in a serious tone, suddenly made Garrus nervous. "I, eh... assume you didn't get my message last week." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I, eh... weeeell..."

Victus chuckled. "Relax, Garrus, I was joking. I know your sister's ceremony has been keeping you busy the last few days. And I did get your message that you would be delayed until you returned to Earth."

Garrus sighed with relief as he sat himself down on the stoned bench right at the edge facing the middle walkway. "Thanks, Victus. I think you just made me even more nervous than my sister's mate is feeling right now."

That got a laugh out of Victus. "That was the goal." He then looked around a bit before saying, "That's strange. I thought Castis managed to invite Councilor Sparatus to the ceremony. I don't see him around, unless he's late..."

"Dad mentioned there was some kind of emergency he had to attend to," Garrus answered. "He didn't say what the emergency was, however."

"His mistress is probably in town..." Victus grumbled low enough for only them to hear. Sitting next to Victus, Shepard had to stiffen her laughter upon hearing that.

It was then that soft music that reminded Shepard of the classical genre began to play on the speakers above them. This clued the guests that the ceremony was about to start and they began to be seated. Once everyone settled down, Shepard turned her head to get a view of the guests. As expected, a majority were turians with only a few other non-turians in the room, including the two elcors Solana mentioned sitting in the very back. It didn't take long for Shepard to realize that even though she wasn't the only levo species in the room, she was definitely the only human at the ceremony. She also didn't miss the fact that a few nearby turians, mostly older ones, were glaring at her.

 _Not surprising..._ she thought to herself as she turned to face the front, choosing to ignore them. _Hopefully for Solana's sake, they'll remain diplomatic for the rest of the day..._

Soon, Solana and Xarius walked through the pathway and towards the front, making the journey side by side. Xarius's arm was crooked and Solana had slipped hand around his bent elbow. The couple were beaming despite also feeling nervous about the ceremony ahead.

Soon, they reached the front and were joined by the male turian priest who wore white robes and a black scarf around his neck, its two ends falling behind his back. Moments before, the priest had placed a small tin can and what looked like a paintbrush on the table as well as the Kadoyan Ceremonial Tablet. The couple each took a seat at the table.

The beginning was not too different from a human wedding with the priest reading from a book and reciting blessings to the couple. Once that was done, they moved on to the ceremonial tablet, where Solana and Xarius took turns reading a passage from the stone writing. That took a little longer to complete, but they soon moved on to bonding vows, another one that wasn't too different from human weddings.

Soon, they reached what would be the last step of the ceremony. The priest spoke up. "And now... the Changing of the Clan. Who will be making the change?"

"I am," said Xarius.

From there, Solana reached for the paintbrush and dipped it into the cobalt blue paint in the can. She and Xarius leaned forward on the table before Solana began to paint the familiar Vakarian markings on his face. Despite her hands being slightly shaky out of nervousness, Solana kept her focus, making sure that each stroke of the brush was perfect. It wasn't long before Xarius bared the full markings of the Vakarian clan, the blue paint fresh and just starting to dry.

"By the will of the spirits here in the city of Cipritine," the priest began to say. "I declare that Xarius Anagnos is now part of clan Vakarian. And with that, by the will of the spirits, I declare Solana and Xarius officially bonded."

As everyone clapped and cheered in celebration, Shepard suddenly became perplexed. "Wait... I thought everyone kissed at the end of a wedding."

Garrus turned to his mate in confusion. "Eh... Shepard? This is a turian bonding ceremony, remember?"

Realizing what she just said, Shepard light slapped her own forehead. "Oh... right..."

* * *

Before heading back to the Vakarian house, those who wouldn't be at the reception took the time to congratulate Solana and Xarius on becoming bondmates. Once back at the house, everyone invited to the reception headed to the backyard where the tent was set up. Solana and Xarius didn't join them right away as Solana wanted to rest a little bit, feeling a bit weighed down from her pregnancy. Once they came back, it gave Shepard and Garrus the chance to join them in the living room with their own surprise.

"I hope you don't mind me doing this," Shepard began as she gave them their present. "But in human tradition, it's customary to give gifts to the newlyweds... or newly bonded in your case."

"That's very kind of you," Xarius replied in appreciation.

Upon opening their present, Solana gazed at her gift with curiosity. "What's this?" she asked. "I mean, I know it's a holo frame, but what is it for?"

"It's not only to put your ceremony photos in," Shepard started to explain. "But right on the surface, your friends and family can sign their names and wishes right around the photo area. Different guests can even sign on top of each other. From there, you can display any picture along with your favorite messages."

"Wow, that's actually really neat," Xarius said with a nod.

"I agree," said Solana. "Thank you, this was really thoughtful."

"Here, I already signed mine," Garrus said as he turned on the holo. It didn't take long to see his message;

 _Best wishes to my sister, the_ creiermazare! _Love, Garrus._

Solana, for the second time that day, lighting hit her brother's upper arm. "Thanks you _melcgigant_!"

"Eh... unless there's a glitch, my translator translated that to 'pea brain' and 'giant slug' respectively..." Shepard mumbled. "Care to explain?"

Solana laughed. "Yeah, we called each other that as kids. Guess we both haven't grown out of that."

"Definitely not," Garrus agreed. He then reached over to pat Xarius's shoulder. "Welcome to the Vakarian clan. Hopefully you can handle our craziness for the rest of your life."

"Thank you," Xarius replied. "And... after everything, I think I'm prepared by now."

"To be honest, Xarius," Solana started. "The only crazy one in the Vakarian clan is Garrus. The rest of us are normal even with the usual drama."

"Very funny, Sol," Garrus grumbled.

Soon, everyone was outside enjoying the reception. Shepard spent most of it sitting in her seat and observing her surroundings, which she didn't mind. There were still a couple of glares coming from the older turians she didn't know, but once more, she chose to ignore them. To her, it was better to deal with this than for them to confront her on what was supposed to be a happy day.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the conversations were either about what was going on in each individual lives or politics, the latter which definitely bored her to near sleep. However, there was one amusing moment where she listened in on Garrus and his cousin Arek talking shop (and calibrations, no surprise... apparently, that ran in the family) when an older turian couple approached the two – friends of Castis, Shepard guessed from the way they greeted Garrus. The couple immediately began to grill the cousins on the current state of turian politics and trying to garner their opinions on it.

The look on their face made it seem like the two cousins were being smothered and were definitely doing what they could to make a getaway. This only served to amuse Shepard.

 _I've been there many times before with talking politics, Garrus,_ Shepard thought while trying not to laugh. _Now it's your turn to deal with it._

Shepard then turned her head and saw that Solana and Xarius were talking with the two asari they invited to the reception. It was hard to tell what they were talking about... it could be about work for all she knew, but with how content the newly bonded couple looked, it was a subject all four agreed on.

"Lovely ceremony, wasn't it?" a voice suddenly said in a neutral tone from nearby. Turning her head, Shepard was nearly caught by surprise to see Nelia standing nearby, acknowledging the commander. After what happened, Shepard was sure the older turian would've ignored her presence during the ceremony, at least for her niece's sake.

Deciding to go along with it for now, Shepard turned back to look where Solana and Xarius were. "Yes... it really was. This was my first time at a turian bonding ceremony."

"I see..." Nelia replied, this time with no malice in her voice. As a matter of fact, Shepard noted that Nelia seemed to talking more quietly as though she was reminiscing in her mind. Nelia proceeded, "Today did remind me of my own bonding ceremony with my Quintus many years ago... I'm sure he would have enjoyed this day had it not been for the Reapers..."

Upon hearing that, Shepard wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't sure whether Nelia mentioning how her bondmate died was a way for her to blame Shepard for his death, or she was simply stating a fact. At this point, Shepard wasn't even sure if a simple apology would be worth saying as it was hard to tell how the older turian would react to that response.

However, Nelia continued before Shepard had the chance to say anything. "I want to apologize for my behavior, Commander... and know that I will apologize to Xarius before the day is over. I know it's not an excuse, but I've been angry over the past two years, more than I've ever been. A part of me wanted to blame you for the deaths of my bondmate as well as my brother and his bondmate. But only now do I realize how misdirected my angry was." Nelia took a deep breath. "Let's just say... my Tavius reminded me of what was important recently... and how the old way of thinking just doesn't work anymore..."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Shepard finally said. "I know it doesn't help the pain, but trust me when I say that I wish I could've saved everyone..."

Nelia nodded. "It's strange... we turians are supposed to appreciate the ones who still stand. We were always taught that the fight was worth it even if only one turian survived." Her mandibles flicked a little. "I guess I'm selfish to think that I deserved to still have all my loved ones with me... but I should've known better after Phaedria's passing."

A small, wistful smile came over her face as her next words came out mournfully. "If only Quintus could see the galaxy now... he would've been so proud to witness such a union between species... and he would've been so proud to witness Solana's big day... all thanks to you, Shepard."

Before Shepard said anything else, Nelia turned around and began to walk away. Shepard frowned to herself as the conversation simply reminded her that despite a better future for all, those who were lost in the war will never get that chance to experience it. Worse, even after two years since the end of the war, there were still many open wounds remaining on billions of survivors like Nelia, ones that would potentially take years to heal.


	33. Tuchanka

Ever since the end of the Reaper War, Shepard kept in consistent contact with her old friend, Urdnot Wrex. Considering how the krogan were now free from the genophage thanks to Shepard's and especially Mordin's efforts, there was always something new to talk about when concerning the rebuilding of Tuchanka. Mostly, it was about the new buildings or the developing krogan families being formed these days. One time, Shepard got an update on Kalros, the Thresher Maw that helped take down the Reaper scout during the war. She still hung around the former shroud sight, which now contained a memorial statue for Mordin. Sometimes, Shepard would have the chance to talk with either Grunt or Bakara depending on if they were present during the conversation.

At the end of every conversation through vid-call, Wrex always asked her the same question. "So, when are you gonna visit Tuchanka?"

"Soon, Wrex, real soon," was always Shepard's answer.

Having spent a few days in Palaven, that brought Shepard and Garrus closer to the Krogan DMZ where Tuchanka was located. Two days after Solana and Xarius's wedding, and after most of the Vakarian and Zaimis family departed, Shepard and Garrus decided that, while they still had an extra few days before they were due back to Earth, now was the best time to pay Wrex an overdue visit.

Part of Shepard wanted to surprise Wrex but after thinking about it, she decided that it was probably best to let him know a day in advance that she and Garrus were swinging by Tuchanka. After calling him and letting know her plans, well... to say that Wrex was thrilled would be an understatement.

That cued Shepard to buy tickets for the trip as well as working on a switch for the return trip to Earth, which was original set for between Palaven and Earth. That process wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be... as a matter of fact, the ticket seller she spoke to gave her a small discount but didn't say why. She had a feeling that it was all because of who she was. That in itself had its perks at times. It was definitely no different from the discounts she got at the Citadel shops, only there was a lack in advertising this time around.

Solana and Xarius already left to spend a week celebrating their bond in Nevos. Aside from Castis, the only other family left was Uncle Gallus, Aunt Aricia, and Arek. Shepard and Garrus would spend their last day on Palaven just relaxing and listening to old stories about the Vakarian family. Some were, of course, downright hilarious, while others were definitely meant to embarrass a little, at least to Garrus and Arek.

Soon, the night was over and morning came. Garrus and Shepard bid farewell to the family trio and Castis took the couple to the Cipritine Spaceport. At the spaceport, Castis requested for them to call him on the com as soon as they reached Tuchanka. It wasn't hard to tell that Castis was a bit weary about the two of them going to the krogan homeworld, but Shepard figured that it was simply just the ghost of his old way of thinking before everything changed after the war.

After bidding the older turian farewell, Garrus and Shepard went inside the spaceship that would take them to Tuchanka. There was a planned stop-over to the Serpent Nebula, which confused Shepard for a moment since the Citadel was no longer in that area. But then she remembered that with the way the mass relays were currently, it was the shortest route to the krogan homeworld. Not surprisingly, there weren't many people traveling on the ship. Those on the ship were most likely heading to the next stop-over after the DMZ, the Annos Basin where the salarian homeworld, Sur'Kesh, was located.

Once she and Garrus settled into their room, Shepard immediately opened her omni-tool to activate her vid-call to Wrex. After dialing his extranet address, it didn't take long for him to answer, his red-crested and scarred face staring back at her.

"Wrex," she greeted.

"Shepard," the krogan leader replied enthusiastically.

"I'm just letting you know that we're now on our way to Tuchanka," Shepard informed. "We should be there some time tomorrow."

"I knew that," Wrex replied. "You don't have to give me an minute-by-minute update."

"Weeell... I thought you'd want an update so you don't think we got lost," Shepard said with a shrug.

Wrex laughed. "Shepard, if you didn't show up tomorrow, I'd personally send Grunt and the rest of Arlahk Company to hunt for you."

Shepard smiled. "That's really sweet of you, Wrex."

"Though I'm little concerned that you used the word 'hunt' in your explanation," Garrus interjected aloud from the other side of the room.

Wrex laughed. "Is that Garrus I just heard?"

"None other," Shepard replied.

Wrex was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Well, if you don't show up tomorrow, I guess I can send Grunt and Arlahk Company to find you too, Garrus."

"You mean you weren't planning on it in the first place?" Garrus questioned while clutching onto his chest, feigning hurt. "Well that just hurts me feelings, Wrex."

Wrex's face beamed with a large grin. "Well lucky for you, you're just good enough for us krogan to tolerate."

"Or your pride just won't admit that life wouldn't be the same if you didn't miss my funny turian nature one more time," Garrus quipped.

That followed with a hearty laugh from Wrex. "I'm sure we'll have time to shoot some pyjaks while you're here, Garrus." He turned his attention back to Shepard. "Anyway, Bakara's looking forward to seeing you. Besides, it's about time you met the kids!"

"Exactly how many kids do you have?" Shepard asked.

"Exactly? Well..." Wrex started and Shepard didn't miss how his scratched the side of his plated head. "Baraka and I share two girls and she's pregnant with number three. Other than that... eh..."

"...You lost count already, haven't you?" Shepard joked.

"I didn't say that," Wrex grumbled. "But let's put it this way... this generation of krogan are going to be the strongest yet!"

"And if they're also as smart as you are, the krogan was definitely going to have a fantastic future ahead of them."

"Damn right, Shepard!" the krogan bellowed proudly. "Anyway, I have to go before some of the younger krogan start to think about stealing my throne. I'll see you tomorrow."

From there, the vid-call ended. Shepard shut off her omni-tool before she gazed up at Garrus with a sly grin. "I'm so looking forward to butting heads again."

"Eh, you might want to not do that," Garrus suggested while trying not to sound too worried.

"Hey, it's not like my legs are being head-butted," Shepard pointed out. "It's actually a miracle that my head, aside from the burns, avoided any serious injuries after the war..."

"True, but let's try to avoid a concussion, unlike last time when you head-butted Gatatog Uvenk."

"Hey, _that_ was worth it and you know it!" Shepard chuckled. "And during the war, you have no idea how tempted I was wanting to try it again on Wrex's brother, Wreav. At least Wrex took care of that problem himself at the Hollows."

Garrus couldn't help laugh over the mention of Wreav, specifically his fate. "Well... if anything, at least Wreav has long since turned into Karlos's excr-"

"Ugh, I don't need the mental image!" Shepard cried out while covering her eyes with her hands and shaking her head. That made Garrus laugh even more.

* * *

The next day, Shepard and Garrus's ship arrived on Tuchanka. Because there wasn't a proper spaceport readily built at this time, all passangers going onto the planet took a shuttle down to the krogan homeworld. The shuttle was a snug fit with mostly krogan within, but it was managable. Shepard was at least able to get a seat with Garrus content with standing and holding onto a railing. They did get a couple of stares, but at least one of them recognized the two as he gave them a respectful nod. Of course, they returned the gesture.

Upon stepping out of the shuttle after landing, Shepard was nearly taken by surprise at the sight before her. The last time she was here, rubble was nearly everywhere, most buildings were in disrepair, and the sky above was heavy with smog and radiation. Now seeing the planet today, all the rubble was cleared out, at least in this area. There was still the smog and radiation in the air, but now it wasn't so hard to see some blue sky peaking through any opening between the heavy, smoky brown clouds. From where she stood, she could see the progress of the future buildings that would someday stand as tall and proud as the natives of this world. And if one looked closely, remnants of natural green plants and grass were beginning to make themselves known. It would be a long time before whatever was growing would truly make themselves known, but considering the very-long lifespan of the krogan, there was a good chance that many of them would live long enough to see that happen.

The greatest sight to behold, however, were the krogan themselves. When Shepard first stepped foot into Tuchanka, a majority of them were just waiting to pick a fight with anyone who looked at them the wrong way. Now they were working together to rebuild their homeworld, rebuilding themselves back to the life their ancestors once lived many years ago. The few krogan children playing nearby were surely to see that future florish as long as they didn't make the same mistakes that those before them did. Even better was the fact that the krogan were actually working _with_ other species, mainly the turian and the salarians, who were willing to helping with the process of rebuilding Tuchanka.

Shepard couldn't help the smile that came over her. She could only imagine how beautiful this planet would be once all the hard work was completed.

"You know," Garrus started to say after a few minutes of admiring the sight before. "I'm not sure what it is, but for once, I feel like I can walk through here and not have to worry about someone ripping my fringe off my head."

Shepard gazed up at him with a raised eyebrow. "You never told me you felt that way."

"You had other concerns to worry about at the time," Garrus pointed out as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Besides, last I remember, unless they were as stupid as Gatatog Uvenk, none would dare mess with the famous Commander Shepard... and that was _before_ you helped cure the genophage."

Shepard smiled. "Well... I can't take all the credit. If it wasn't for Wrex keeping them in line, who knows how it could've really turned out."

"True."

From there, the couple decided to slowly walk forward and get a closer look at their surroundings. Shepard eventually found herself drawn to the small field where she spotted a couple of krogan children playing together. Well, if one could call butting heads together playing. She wasn't sure how old those kids were – it was hard to guess krogan age unless you were looking at scars or hear their low, grizzled voices when they spoke – but one thing was for sure... these kids had a bright future ahead of them. They would never have to face what those before them did. They never had to worry about whether or not they would go extinct. They never have to worry about the genophage. That thought alone left a contented smile on her face.

Suddenly, a deep booming voice filled with humor spoke behind her. "What's the matter, Shepard? Have you ever seen baby krogans running around before?"

Shepard's grin grew wider as she turned around to face the familiar red krogan who stood a few feet away. Behind him was Bakara and two very young krogan who she quickly realized were their two girls. "Wrex!"

Wrex let out a hearty laugh as he took a couple of steps forward, reaching out his hand to her. Shepard extended her own hand out to receive the handshake. She also braced herself just a mere moment before Wrex's three-fingered hand grasped on to hers. In his enthusiasm, Wrex shook her arm firmly with only just enough strength to nearly lose her balance; it wasn't the first time she received such a handshake from him, but considering the current state of her legs, it was a miracle that she remained on her feet once he was done. From there, he patted her shoulder before taking a step back.

"Welcome back, my friend," Wrex greeted. "You definitely look no worse for wear. I imagine you collected a few more scars after you took care of the Reapers."

Somehow, hearing that from Wrex made Shepard laugh. "You could say that."

"Don't be so modest, Shepard," Wrex started. "The Collectors couldn't kill you and now the Reapers couldn't kill you. You survive the first Normandy blowing up and then you survive the whole Citadel dropping right on top of you! Even if you and Mordin hadn't helped cure the genophage, that earns you high respect from most krogan around here!"

"Oh no," Garrus started saying with a mix of humor and sarcasm. "Let's forget about the turian who accompanied the Commander in curing that genophage."

Wrex stared at the turian for a moment before he let out an exasperated sigh and grinned. "I guess I can say hello to you too."

That made Garrus chuckle. "You _really_ have gone soft, just as I suspected!"

"You wish, Vakarian!"

By then, Shepard turned her attention the female krogan with Wrex and gave her a warm smile. She reached out a hand to her. "Bakara... it's so good to see you again."

Bakara smiled as she reached out to shake Shepard's hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Commander. How are you?"

"Doing well, all things considering. How are things going here on Tuchanka?"

"Very well. I'm very proud of the progress we've been making here. I feel that Tuchanka will be as it once was in the ancient days."

Shepard gazed at their surroundings. "From the looks of things, I'd say that'll happen within the next few years."

"That's what most of us believe as well," Bakara responded. "Most clans work together nowadays. The combined leadership between myself and Wrex has proven to be valueable. And my hopes for Wrex being the leader of our people have been correct."

Shepard nodded. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Shepard!" one of the two little krogans with them called out. Gazing down at them, Shepard immediately noted that the one dressed in navy blue, like her mother, was the splitting image of Wrex, minus the scars of course. The other, dressed in dark green, was the splitting image of Bakara, only she had her father's red eyes.

Shepard grinned. "Hi you two," she greeted warmly. "I assume your mom and dad told you all about me, huh?"

The one in green pointed to the one in blue. "This is my sister. Her name is Shepard, too! But we really call her Shep."

Somehow, hearing that made Shepard grin's widen more to the point of making her cheeks hurt. "And what's your name?" she asked the one in green.

"My name is Mordin."

That tugged at her heartstrings. Shepard knew Wrex and Bakara intended to name one of their kids after the salarian scientist – her friend - who helped see to the genophage cure. "Who's the oldest?" she asked the two sisters.

Mordin raised both her hands enthusiastically. "I am!"

"How old are you two?"

"I'm almost two," Mordin replied.

"And I just turned one!" Shep called out.

That made Shepard's eyebrows rise up in surprise. Clearly young krogans tend to grow faster than most species as well as, at least that this point, speak at the equivilant of a human six-year-old. "Wow... you two have surely grown up _real_ fast... perhaps a little _too_ fast... and I only just met you two today!"

"Mommy's going to have another baby soon!" Mordin announced aloud.

Shepard chuckled. "So I heard! Congratulations! Any ideas on a name?"

"Not sure yet," Wrex mentioned. "We're still debating on that."

"We'll probably make that decision once we know its gender," Bakara mentioned.

"You know, my name isn't such a bad name either," Garrus pipped in.

Wrex grinned. "It definitely isn't. Actually, I was thinking about getting a pet pyjak for the girls. I'm sure we'll name that after you." He then followed that with a laugh that came deep from within his belly.

"Har har, very funny," Garrus grumbled with humor.

"Well," Wrex started, changing the subject. "We'll head over to our dwelling in just a moment. We're waiting for-"

"SHEPARD!" a loud, booming voice shouted with excitement nearby.

Shepard grinned, realizing who just arrived. "GRUNT!" she called out in excitement just as she laid her eyes on the gray-plated, blue-eyed young krogan who practically came charging at her. To anyone else, this would've been the protocal to run the hell away. Instead, she stood in her spot, though she also prepared herself at the same time. If a much older krogan like Wrex nearly knocked her off her feet with a handshake, she could only imagine the damage a much younger krogan would do.

So it came as a surprise when Grunt wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her off her feet, and spun her around a few times, all while laughing enthusiastically, clearly excited to see his Battlemaster again. Shepard laughed as well, though even she couldn't tell whether it was from being happy to see the tank-bred krogan or nervousness over how her legs and hips were going to survive. At one point, she looked back at Garrus. He was grinning – Grunt's excitement was contaigious - but at the same time she noticed the tension in his shoulders. He was definitely feeling the same way she was.

Finally, Grunt placed her back down on the ground before Grunt lightly punched her left arm with his fist. "Battlemaster, you finally made it! Didn't think the whole Citadel dropping right on top of ya was gonna stop ya!"

Shepard rubbed the back of her next over that. "So I've been told."

"Come on," Wrex encouraged. "Let's head back to camp before the other clan members eat what's left of the varren for lunch."

"Right behind you," Garrus quipped as they all began walking. From there, the group headed towards the main camp for the Urdnot clan. There, all the krogan greeted Shepard with enthusiastic greetings and battle songs. One particular set of lyrics from battle song sung by a small group caught her attention.

_Here comes the Shepard_

_With bones made from swage!_

_She came to Tuchanka,_

_And cured the genophage!_

_She came with a doctor,_

_A doctor named Mordin!_

_Who gave his life to krogans,_

_For the future of our children!_

Sure, it wasn't the greatest set of lyrics she heard, but the enthusiasm from the krogan made it all sound endearing. It especially touched her how they included both her and Mordin in the same song.

Later, the camp was bustling with activity with Wrex and Bakara overlooking some of the work that was being done. Shepard and Grunt went to shoot some wild pyjaks at the edge of camp as a way to collect some food for everyone. Meanwhile, Garrus found himself playing 'Tackle the Varren' with some of the kids, including Mordin and Shep... with _him_ as the varren. The game was easy enough... the kids tackled him and he would resist a bit before 'giving up' and letting them win. Except there were times when they were too rough, like the one heavier kid who accidentally stepped on his stomach, or the one that decided that pulling on both mandibles would be fun. Garrus took it in stride even though his nerves were practically screaming.

This went on until Grunt and Shepard were done with hunting for the day (and with Grunt holding all the dead pyjaks by their tails in one hand). As the two approached the turian, the kids saw them coming and decided to run off to go do something else, laughing in the process. Poor Garrus was practically left on the ground covered in a thin layer of dust.

"So," Shepard started to say with a smirk on her face. She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Having fun?"

"I guess, but..." Garrus started to say as he sat up. Then he gazed up at his mate. "Eh, Shepard... that thing about us possibly adopting a krogan when the right time came? I changed my mind."

Shepard simply laughed at that.

Later that night after the sun went down, Shepard and Garrus watched from a small distance as all the kids at the camp gathered by Wrex's feet. Wrex sat on a makeshift throne made of stone. His two daughters sat in the middle right in front of the group as they all remained silent, listening in on the story he was sharing.

Shepard recognized the story he was telling right away; the one involving the asari friend of his, Aleena, and the three-day battle they had on a space station filled with mercs and pirates. The kids listened quietly as Wrex told them everything that happened during those three days on that station.

Then Wrex was at the part where he left the shambled station behind. "And when that place blew, there was nothing left larger than a turian's right n- eh..." Wrex immediately stopped right there, remembering that he was telling this story to very young kids _and_ a turian within earshot.

"Turian's head, remember Daddy?" mentioned Shep after the silence lingered for too long.

Wrex laughed. Of course! "Ah yes, that's right! Thanks, kiddo."

Shepard stiffen a laugh, knowing what Wrex was trying to avoid saying. Garrus turned to his mate in confusion. "Turian's right what now?"

"Nothing, I'll tell you later," Shepard promised him.

"Whatever you say..."

"Anyway," Wrex continued. "So I headed back to the diplomat to give him the good news and to collect my pay. But before I got halfway there, Aleena sent me a message."

Then to Shepard's surprise, the kids chanted in sing-song voices at the last line of the story. "Better luck next tiiiime!" That followed with shrills and giggles. Even Wrex had a huge grin on his face after that.

"Clearly this is their favorite story," Garrus guessed. "And I bet he's told a lot of stories to these kids."

"A thousand years' worth, I bet," Shepard mentioned.

Garrus grinned. "You think the kids might like to hear a battle story from you?"

"Maybe," Shepard said. "Bet they'd like to hear me tell them how I helped cure the genophage. However, I think I'll let Wrex continue to tell that story. I bet he tells it better than I could."

"Well you can if you want," Garrus replied. "Maybe one, I can tell them about my days as Archangel. Bet they would like the part where I fought off three mercenary gangs by myself."

"I bet they would."

* * *

The next morning, it was immediately decided that Shepard, Garrus, Wrex, and Grunt were going to go hunting. But it wasn't just something as simple as shooting pyjaks or finding wild varren.

It was Thresher Maw hunting! And it was all Shepard's idea!

Naturally, Wrex and Grunt were as excited as human kids in a candy store over that. Garrus was only slightly exasperated by it, but at the same time he was feeling a little enthusiastic at the idea. "If we survived taking down a Thesher Maw on foot, we can survive taking down one in a tonka," he said. "I wonder what the rest of the old crew would've thought about this."

"They would've thought we were crazy," Shepard chuckled.

"...True."

Wrex drove the tomka while Shepard and Garrus sat in the back. Grunt remained standing though he paced a bit, feeling a bit restless as he was looking forward to taking down a thresher maw.

"Hey Grunt," Shepard started. "Have you ever heard of taxidermy?"

"I read about it before on the extranet," Grunt replied. "What about it?"

Shepard couldn't help the large grin that came over lips. "Maybe one day, you can figure out how to do taxidermy so you can hanging up a thresher maw's head in your dwelling for all to see."

It was Grunt's turn to grin widely. "Yeah, that would be awesome!"

"I admit, that would be one hell of a sight," mentioned Garrus.

"It definitely would make all the other krogan envious," pipped in Wrex. "That's quite an idea you had there, Shepard."

"Actually it was Zaeed Massani's idea," Shepard admitted. "He thought our own dwelling should have taxidermy and I just happened to think of how much Grunt would like to hang up a thresher maw's head like a trophy."

Wrex chuckled. "I knew there was a reason I like that human. Always full of interesting ideas."

"You said it!" Garrus agreed with a laugh.

"You're right, Battlemaster," said Grunt. "This idea is great! I like it!"

"I knew you would." Shepard then proceeded to adjust a gauntlet she was wearing, part of the armor she brought with her for this kind of occasion. _You just never know,_ she once told Garrus. "Feels oddly refreshing to be in armor again," she admitted. "A little snug in the middle, but that's not surprising considering my lack of activity these days. Maybe I was better off wearing jeans and an N7 hoodie."

"Well it's better this way," Garrus said. "The last thing we need is to take you back to camp naked because your clothes got burned by maw acid."

"Uh huh," Shepard grumbled though she couldn't help but wink at him.

Garrus laughed before he turned to the young krogan pacing the tomka. "So Grunt," he began. "Still leading Aralahk Company?"

"Yup," Grunt replied with a grin. "We still have some pockets of resistance against Wrex and his plans, but since they're so few of them these days, it's pretty easy to take them out when they refuse to back down."

"Is anyone still giving you trouble with you being the company's leader?" Shepard asked.

"Ha!" Wrex balked. "There's always trouble when it comes to Grunt."

"Yeah," Grunt laughed. "I still need to knock a few heads every now and then, mainly to remind them that there's a reason Wrex chose me to lead."

"You know," Garrus started to say. "I wonder if I'll live long enough to see Grunt become the leader of Clan Urdnot."

"Don't give the whelp any ideas!" Wrex called from the driver's seat.

Grunt grinned. "What's wrong, old man? Afraid I'll dethrone?"

"Hah! Hardly! You'll barely leave a scratch before I-"

"Oookay now, let's not let anything happen before-" Shepard started to say, but she was suddenly interupted when they felt the ground shake violently, following by a loud screeching sound from the distance. There was no doubt to anyone as to what it was.

"A-ha! Found a maw!" Wrex yelled out. "Wish I can jump into the action, but someone's gotta drive you kids around while you have the fun. Hey Garrus, why don't you drive?"

"No way!" Garrus laughed. "Shepard wants to repeat what the three of us did during Grunt's Rite of Passage. That means it'll be the three of us again."

"It won't be the same on foot," Shepard started as she got her grenade launcher prepped before placing it behind her back. "But I bet it'll be fun regardless."

"YEAH!" Grunt shouted as he slammed his fists together.

Immediately as planned, Garrus opened the two large, round hatches above their heads. Grunt immediately poked through one while Garrus holsted Shepard up onto his back just after she put on her helmet.

"You ready?" Garrus asked her.

"You bet!" Shepard called out eagerly.

With that, Garrus holsted her up until she was in a sitting position on top of the tomka. Garrus followed after, sitting to her right. Then, the ground shook once more before a massive, worm-like being emerged from the sands not too far from the tomka. Its apendages twitched, eyes glared, and their blue snake-like tongue slithered back and forth from its mouth that also drooled dark green acid.

"There it is!" Garrus called out while he and Shepard pulled out their grenade launchers.

Grunt pulled out his M-300 Claymore shotgun. "Finally, some action!"

From there, the three began shooting at the large creature. Grunt let out a battle cry as he shot at the maw every few seconds with his shotgun. Meanwhile, Shepard and Garrus timed their own shots, aiming their grenade launchers at the maw. Each time the maw was hit, it let out an ear piercing screech loud enough to nearly rattle their bones.

This went on for a few more seconds when the maw quickly spat acid at them. Suddenly, the tomka made a sharp turn in order to avoid the hit and all three hunters had to hold on tight so that they didn't fall off from their seating positions. Then another sharp turn was made almost out of nowhere, making the trio nearly slide off in the opposite direction, but luckily they were able to hang on still. By then, the thresher maw had returned to its dwelling underground.

"Wrex!" Shepard yelled out through her helmet's microphone once all was calm. "Watch your driving, we're barely hanging on up here!"

"Now you know how it feels when you drove the Mako!" Wrex shouted through the radio.

Shepard's mouth dropped at that. "Wrex, what are you talking about?! You were the ONLY one out of the whole squad who actually _liked_ my driving!"

"Yeah, I _did_ until Williams turned green and threw up on my feet!" Wrex reminded her. "I didn't even know humans could even turn green until that day!"

"I remember that," Garrus pondered. "The smell didn't come out for days. Hey Wrex! Remember that one time you stuck your head out of the Mako's roof and made Shepard go full speed?!"

"HA!" Wrex laughed. "Those were good times!"

"I still have a video recording of it, too!" Garrus reminded. "Bet the kids back at the camp would get a kick out of seeing your lips pulled back from the wind's force!"

Suddenly, a large pile of sand was pushed up as the maw reappeared just a few yards away, it's mouth gaping and dripping with acid and its tongue slithering again. Sand also rained down on the tomka as well as the trio sitting on the roof.

"WHOA!" Shepard yelled out in surprise as the tomka took another sharp turn in order to avoid the maw.

"Having fun yet, Grunt?!" Garrus yelled out once they were at a safe distance.

Grunt's only response was to shoot at the maw a couple of times before he let out a deep, rumbling "Heh, heh, heh!"

"Yup, he's having fun!" Shepard shouted.

This went on like this for a little while after with them shooting, the maw spitting, and Wrex erratically driving as a way to avoid the flying acid. After a while, Garrus considered it a miracle how none of them, even the tomka, were hit by the acid just yet.

Eventually, Shepard realized that she only had three grenades left in her launcher. She wasn't sure how much more firepower Garrus and Grunt still had, but she knew one thing for sure... she was definitely going to make the next three shots count.

Shepard soon saw the maw open its mouth, likely to spit more acid at them. She immediately took that moment to aim her launcher and fire her last three grenades right into its mouth. She cheered with glee as soon as they went down its throat.

Seconds later, a muffled _boom!_ was heard as the grenades in the maw's gullet tore through it's throat. At the same time, Grunt aimed his Claymore and let off a few more shots at its head. Then, the maw let out one last screech before it collasped into the sand, causing the ground to shake again. Once that was over, the tomka was brough closer so that the group would confirm that the creature was taken down completely.

There was no doubt judging by the large amount of blood and chunks of skin and muscles around it... the maw was dead.

Once that was confirmed, everyone cheered and roared in victory. Once more, Shepard could help the grin on her face, feeling a rush of adrenaline and excitement she hadn't felt in a long while. It had been really nice to do something like this. Sure, it didn't beat hunting on foot, but she was happy to acommadate by hanging on top of a tomka. Hopefully the quick movement didn't aggravate her legs, but to her it would be worth it just to feel this kind of thrill again.

At the same time, in the back of her head, it was something she knew couldn't be done everyday, but damn if she wasn't going to enjoy this kind of thrill occasionally for the rest of her life.

"That was fun!" she called out. "We should do this again soon!"

"YEAH!" Grunt agreed enthusiastically. "Not as great as taking down a maw on foot, but it was still awesome!"

"Agreed!"

"Next time we do this," Wrex started. "Vakarian, you're driving. No way I'm gonna miss out on that kind of fun again."

Garrus grinned. "It's a deal, Wrex."

* * *

Hours later as the sun began to set, a tomka arrived at the former site of the shroud where the genophage cure took place. Once the tomka stopped, Shepard and Garrus got out of the vehicle along with Wrex and Bakara. Shepard herself walked a few feet before she stared at the sight in awe.

The rubble had long since been cleared. The only thing that remained were the double maw hammers and gong meant to summor the Mother of all Thresher Maws, Kalros, to this place. Just a few feet away from there was one new feature; an eight-foot tall statue of Mordin Solis. He stood tall, eyes straight forward, a small smirk on his face. One fist rested in an open palm in front of his chest. Whoever made the statue had done a perfect job. They even got the details of his scars right, at least a far as she remembered.

"Kalros isn't gonna suddenly appear out of nowhere, is she?" Garrus suddenly had to ask as he searched the area with his blue eyes.

"What, afraid of a little maw acid even after our big hunt today, Vakarian?" Wrex laughed. "Actually, since the shroud collasped, she doesn't come out as much unless you can too close to her nest out there. However, if you _really_ want to spice things up around here, I can personally hit those hammers to summon her..."

"Nah, we're good," Garrus answered.

From there, the four of them slowly headed to the base of the statue. Once there, Shepard promptly placed the wildflowers she brought with her by the statue's feet. The flowers themselves came from the fields near the Urdnot camp, another sign of a bright future for Tuchanka.

A future Mordin saw to make happen.

Wrex sighed. "We never found his body after the rubble was cleared," he mentioned. "Figured it was fitting to place his statue here. And I'll tell ya, after what he did for us, he's gonna be remembered for centuries to come! Many krogans from around the galaxy are gonna stop here to pay their respects."

Shepard nodded in agreement, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed. Still, she swallowed it down before she focused on the inscription that was written at the base of the statue;

_Doctor Mordin Solis_

_It was he who helped create the cure for the genophage. It was he who had given his life so that we, the krogan, could have a future. May he be remembered for the sacrifice he made in order to planet the seeds that will forever let Tuchanka grow to the glory it was always meant for._

Shepard tilted her head over the last line. _That's pretty poetic._

It was strange... months before, Mordin felt so strongly about the genophage and how it was needed to keep the krogan population in check. It was the one subject Shepard never agreed with and the two had arguments over it a few times during the Cerberus days. It especially escalated the day they were searching for his kidnapped student, Maelon, here on Tuchanka.

Then he met Bakara and the women who were part of the experiments made by Maelon, who was never kidnapped but came to the hospital by his own will. Although the women had volunteered and though Maelon meant well, his methods were barbaric and left the surviving women weak. Bakara was the sole survivor by the time Shepard and Wrex reached the STG facility during the Reaper War. They also met up with Mordin that same day.

By then, Mordin's views did a one-eighty. Shepard knew seeing the women changed him and made him want to make up for the mistakes he made in the past. After all, it was he who told Wrex about the females being held here.

As he said to her then, on the Normandy, and before going up the elevator to the shroud; 'Had to be me. Someone else might've gotten it wrong.'

After a few more minutes of silent reflection, the four of them decided that it was time to go. Quietly, the turned around and headed back to the tomka. Once they reached it, Garrus heard a distinctive humming sound next to him. Turning, it took him a few seconds to realize that the humming came from Shepard. He realized that it was a tune then, but he didn't recognize it.

"What are you humming?" Garrus asked curiosly while tilting his head to the left.

"Oh, nothing, just a tune I heard a while ago," Shepard admitted. "Come on, let's go."

Garrus simple nodded before getting inside the vehicle. She was the last to get into the tomka. Before she did however, Shepard turned to look at the statue of Mordin one last time. From there, she finished the tune she was humming in her head.

_I am a very model of a scientist salarian._


	34. The Doctor & the Geth

While watching the news in the living room in the middle of the afternoon, Shepard's omni-tool beeped, alerting her to a vid-call. She took a moment to look to see who was calling. A smile came over her lips as she saw who it was an immediately answered the call.

"Hey Tali, what's up?" Shepard greeted cheerfully.

"Hey Shepard," Tali answered. "I hope I didn't wake you up or something. I still keep mixing up the galaxy timezones."

"Heck no," Shepard assured her. "It's the middle of the afternoon here and I've got nothing to do right now."

"Oh, good!" Tali breathed with relief. "I once called Kasumi in the middle of the night to ask her a tech question. She grumbled something about 'disrupting her dreams of crunches' or something like that, whatever that means. I still feel bad about that."

 _Crunches, huh?_ Shepard bemused, but decided not to think further on that one.

"Anyway," Tali continued. "I called because I wanted to share some news that only a few people know about right now. It's... about the geth."

That quickly perked Shepard's attention. Last she heard, the quarians were hoping to restore the geth's functionality, a way to thank them for allowing them to return to Rannoch as well as their assistance during the Reaper War. However, the legal matter and controversary surrounding the use of AI was a hot topic most politicians didn't want to touch. Mostly, it's nothing but going in circles on the issue. Other than that, Shepard guessed that she hadn't heard a peep on the topic in months.

"What's going on?" Shepard pressed.

"I don't know much details myself, but according to Admiral Koris, the Council took a few days to review the case upon returning to the Citadel, and well... not only did they seem to have come up with a solution, but they plan to announce their solution tomorrow night!"

Shepard's eyebrows shot up in both shock and surprise at that news. Sure, this was nothing more than an announcement of an announcement, but it was definitely something.

"Wow," Shepard uttered in astonishment. "And here I thought the council would argue about it for at least a human-standard lifetime."

Tali laughed. "That'd be different if quarian Admirals were involved. You know how we love to debate for days on end."

"Yeah... I remember. Anyway, what do you and the others expect will be announced tomorrow?"

Tali shrugged. "It's hard to tell even with Koris's insight... though rumor has it that your human Councilor Osoba is leaning towards favoring the return of the geth, but then again, that's just a rumor. The only thing we can do right now is wait."

"As usual," Shepard sighed. "It's going to be a long twenty-eight hours or so."

"I'm just hoping things work for the best," Tali said. "Funny... five years ago, I would've been in favor of eradication. It's funny how a new perspective can change one's view."

"That's usually how it goes," Shepard pointed out. She then notice a new 'call waiting' and decided to end her current one. "I have to go, but I'll call you as soon as the council makes their announcement."

"Talk to you later," Tali said with a nod. Then the vid-call screen went black.

Almost as soon as Shepard ended the call, the waiting call came through. She raised an eyebrow. "Huh... what is this, 'everyone call Shepard' day?" she mused.

Nevertheless, she looked briefly to see who was calling her – Doctor Karin Chakwas. That earned another grin from Shepard as she accepted the call, the older woman's face soon appearing on her omni-tool's vid-screen.

"Ah, my favorite doctor," Shepard greeted with a grin. "And you know how I usually feel about medical stuff in general."

"Oh hush," the doctor replied, trying to sound serious but failed as a small chuckle escaped her lips. "I assume you're feeling much better these days."

"All things considering," Shepard answered. "I'm still walking with effort, but I'm getting more and more used to it each day. How was the Council galaxy tour?"

"Not as bad as I thought it would be," Dr. Chakwas informed. "I only really had to perform routine check-ups on board."

"Bet it was a lot more relaxing compared with dealing with the likes of me," Shepard joked.

"I admit, I miss the challenge," the doctor laughed. "Speaking of stubborn... I was calling because I'm close to where you are. I'm in the process of delivering new medical supplies and processing trades. I thought I could come by and make a house call tomorrow evening."

Shepard squinted her eyes. "Uh huh... and let me guess... needles will be involved."

Dr. Chakwas chuckled again. "Alas, to my great disappointment, that won't be necessary. I simple want to come by to review your progress and go over your improvements. We'll also discuss any future considerations based on your current recovery process."

Shepard sighed inwardly and gave herself a moment's pause. She knew she was overdue for another routine check-up and, for the past two months, Garrus was insistent that she go make an appointment. Dr. Chakwas was the only doctor she trusted to give her both the straight-to-the-point diagnosis and compassion – a rare balance. The only other doctor she was okay with was Dr. Michel, but that required a long shuttle ride to Geneva and she would have to plan accordingly to make that work.

As much as she hated anything medical-related, well... this was definitely an opportunity to have her favorite doctor examine her after almost a year of absence. Who knows when that chance would come again.

Shepard let out an exasperated sigh before finally answering. "All right, doc. If you insist. But really... I do look forward to seeing you... minus the examination. Either way, I'll even make you a nice dinner while you're here."

Dr. Chakwas smiled. "I didn't know you cooked."

Shepard laughed. "I didn't know either until last year. And you should see my garden, too. That will surely blow your mind."

Now the doctor was laughing. "Now _this_ I have to see."

* * *

Needless to say, Garrus was pleased that Shepard agreed to a house call medical appointment with Chakwas once she told him the news. He then proceeded to joke about 'sticking around the house tomorrow so she didn't try to escape off-planet' instead of his original plan to deliver some supplies to the refugee camps.

"Very funny," was all Shepard grumbled to him. Garrus merely laughed in reply.

Shepard had just popped two casseroles in the oven when the doorbell rang. "Be right there!" she called out as she closed the oven door. From there, she slowly made her way towards the front door and opening it upon reach. As expected, Dr. Chakwas stood on the other side. Shepard immediately noticed how different she looked without her medical garb. Instead, she wore a simple green shirt and black slacks. If it wasn't for the medical kit she held in her left hand, Shepard would've thought there was an impostor standing there instead.

"Dr. Karin Chakwas," Shepard greeted with a smile. She took a step back, welcoming her into her home. "I'm glad you made it, finally."

"So am I," the doctor replied as she stepped into the cabin. "Joker kept mentioning during the tour how I needed to see your cabin

"Hopefully he didn't exaggerate about it too much."

Dr. Chakwas smiled. "Not at all now that I'm seeing it in person. It really is quite stunning. And might I say, you have a lovely garden outside. I wouldn't have believed you had green thumbs if you hadn't told me."

Shepard chuckled at that. "To be frank, if it wasn't for the VI we had installed, the plants would've been long dead."

The doctor stiffened a laugh just before clearing her throat. "That I can imagine." Her omni-tool glowed on her arm then and she began tapping a few commands on it with her finger. "Now then... time for your examination. Unless you want to eat dinner first."

Shepard immediately groaned as she rubbed a hand over her face. "Ugh... should've known you'd get right down to business."

"Don't be a grouch," Chakwas suggested though there was some amusement in that statement.

Shepard let out a long, exasperated sigh before finally replying, "Examination. Let's get this over with."

They both sat down on the couch just after the doctor scanned her. "Now then," the older woman started. "Tell me about your previous medical history during my absence."

"You mean about the only two check-ups I've had plus the one surgery and the two follow-ups I've had in the past year?" Shepard asked.

Dr. Chakwas clicked her tongue a couple of times as she shook her head. "You should've had more appointments, but I'm not surprised considering your... stubborn nature."

"Naturally," Shepard added with a laugh.

"How did your first appointment go?"

Shepard sighed over that particular memory. "I know you recommended Dr. Hinato yourself, but, eh... that check-up didn't go too well."

"I got her examination report. She, eh... suspected you didn't really take her words into consideration."

Shepard sighed. "Yeah... at the time I just didn't want to accept what could possibly happen in my future. To be honest though, that was an all-around horrible day and I associated that particular appointment with that day. It's... the main reason why I opted not to see her again and just... see another doctor."

"And that didn't happen until a couple of months later when you saw Dr. Michel in Geneva."

Shepard nodded. "She's really the only doctor I trust in this galaxy... after you of course."

That earned another laugh from Dr. Chakwas. "Well I hope that never changes anytime soon."

"Doubtful."

"Tell me about your appointment with Dr. Michel."

Shepard slowly leaned back into the couch. "Well, aside from her not-so-subtle oogly-eyes over Garrus, that appointment went pretty well. She talked about the possibility of replacing my bones with artificial ones so that I didn't have to deal with all the rods and bolts for the rest of my life. Still, she warned that it can be a gamble with the possibility that my body may reject them, making my walking situation even worse."

Dr. Chakwas nodded in agreement. "There's always a risk when it comes to medical advances."

"That's what I told Dr. Michel that day," Shepard added.

"Have you decided if that's something you want to consider in the future?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

Shepard shrugged. "To be honest, I haven't really thought about it in a while, even after my last surgery to fix the loose rod. I figured it was better than to keep going into hospitals and getting even _more_ surgeries. Plus, I think it's better to see how far my recovery goes before I make such a decision. For all I know, I may walk normally again in a couple of years I may not be taking down thresher maws on foot by then, but..."

"Are you still seeing Cyrena for your physical therapy sessions?"

Shepard nodded. "Yes, and still twice a week at that."

"Good." Finally, the doctor turned off her omni-tool and looked straight at Shepard.

"Seeing you walking today versus seeing you walking last year," Dr. Chakwas started. "You've made remarkable improvement. I suspect your physical therapy sessions and not sitting around all the time has done well with making your legs stronger each and everyday. Still... those improvements are still slower than one could expect, especially with rods and bolts being involved.

"The artificial bones are a good idea, but as we discussed, it is a risk. You're right about one thing... it's best to see how far your recovery goes before we even consider such a surgery. I'd say maybe another three to five years tops before that discussion comes up again."

Shepard frowned a little. "And... if I don't consider the artificial bones then?"

"The chance of full recovery is there," Dr. Chakwas continued in earnest. "But it's a guess as to how long. It could take _years_ for all we know. All I can advise at this point, Shepard, is to take it one day at a time. Continue exercising and continue with your physical therapy sessions. I also recommend check-up appointments with me four times a year. I'll do those appointments as house calls if you wish rather than have you make the trip. How does that sound?"

Shepard managed to slowly nod. "Sounds good. Thanks, Karin."

Despite hearing all of this before, Shepard now felt that hearing this from her favorite doctor was a lot less than a blow than it was before. She almost expected to feel depressed and disappointed, but... instead she felt a strange sense of... peace? Acceptance? She wasn't quite sure and she found her mind fighting over exactly what it was she was feeling deep within her core.

Rather than think about the future right now, Shepard chose to let Dr. Chakwas's words sink in... at least for the next couple of weeks. She would go insane otherwise.

* * *

After Garrus came home and the three of them enjoyed a wonderful dinner, Dr. Chakwas chose that time to make her departure. "Keep an eye on that one," she joked to Garrus before heading out.

An hour later, Shepard quickly turned the television on. In just a few moments, the expected news concerning the geth's future would be made by the council in a planned press meeting. Already it was being broadcasted with only a news reporter's voice speaking about, well... Shepard wasn't paying attention, to be honest. She did notice the mixed array of races amongst the waiting audience, though she was pretty sure that almost half of them were quarians.

Garrus soon joined her on the couch after he put away the dishes from tonight's dinner. "Did it start?" he asked.

"Not quite yet, but I imagine it will very soon," Shepard guessed. A frown appeared on her face. "You know... I wish we were with Tali right now. She's been hoping for the best, but..."

"As I've always said... I expect the worst. There's a good chance I'll be pleasently surprised."

Shepard leaned towards him to give him a quick peck on a mandiable. "Wise words to live by, Vakarian."

In that moment, the view on the vid-screen focused on the four members of the current Council. As expected, the asari Councilor Tevos took front and center while the other three watched on. Briefly, she gazed at her surroundings before focusing on the camera's lens in front of her.

"Greetings," Tevos began. "To begin, we would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome of our return. Although the Presidium part of the Citadel is fully rebuilt and operational again, myself and the rest of the council have decided to conduct any further business on Elysium, at least until _all_ of the Citadel is fully functional again. We are humbled by the warm welcome we received upon our return and are proud to witness the continued union between all species in this galaxy after being brought together as one in the Reaper War."

"Mainly because of me," Shepard couldn't help but grumble. She felt Garrus reach out for her hand and gave it a gently squeeze. Shepard returned the gesture while keep her attention on the vid-screen.

Tevos proceeded with her speech. "Throughout most of our tour, the fate of the geth has been a hot topic. Even with the illegal use of AI in place as well as centuries of mistrust, the geth had proven themselves during the war to be capable allies, allies who fought bravely alongside the rest of the galaxy in time of war. They've proven to desire for peace and a willingness to work with others to achieve that peace, including one with their creators who they welcomed back to their homeworld with open arms.

"Therefore... after much deliberation, a decision has been made. And although the details of the future are still being discussed, one thing is certain; the geth, their surviving software, _with_ guidance from not just their creators the quarians, but from the entire galactic community, are welcomed back to the galactic community."

That... surprised Shepard. Granted the 'guidance' part probably came with a lot of strings and restrictions, but she figured it wasn't an easy decision considering how held up the illegality of AI was for so long. Then again, the council must've felt that they owed their lives to the geth somehow after thinking on it for almost a year now. Already, she can only imagine the mixed reception this news was going to receive.

As much as Shepard wanted the geth to return, she couldn't help but wonder what the future held for the geth. One thing was certain, at least for Shepard – with the future of the geth certain now, a heavy weight seemed to lift off her shoulders.

Legion's sacrifice was not in vain after all...

Garrus's mandibles flared into a grin. "See? Pleasently surprised."

Shepard could only chuckle at that before she found herself staring at the screen in awe (even with all the mixed chatter in the audience on the vid-screen). She like to think that this was truly the first step in true union of _all_ species now that the geth were being included back in the community. It was one of the things she fought for during the war.

She had the feeling, however, that only time could tell...


	35. The Gardens

Upon waking up one sunny morning, Garrus found the master bedroom oddly quiet. Granted Shepard was fast asleep in the bed they shared, but he couldn't quite pinpoint why there was such a silence around him. He wasn't unnerved by it... just bothered that he couldn't figure out _why_.

Nevertheless, he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a shower. He and Shepard had quite the day ahead of them today. After what felt like forever, the new homes for the refugees just on the outskirts of town were fully built and, today, the chosen families would finally have a proper roof over their heads after spending so long in the refugee camps. It was the type of accomplishment both he and Shepard were proud of. Of course, they were to help with today's presentation which neither hesitated to accept. Garrus hadn't met any of the families yet, but he understood that there were a mix array of them. They were chosen based on immediate needs and unique situations from what he understood.

Garrus ended up staying in the shower longer than he intended. At the start of it, since he had the door partially opened, he was able to hear Shepard move around in the bedroom. He only heard her for a few seconds before he focused on his shower.

After some time, the hot water started to run cold and Garrus chose that time to step out of the shower. After drying himself off, he got himself dressed in black and blue civies before stepping out out of the bathroom. He stomach grumbling and the idea of going out for breakfast came to mind. He saw Shepard sitting on the bed decided to make the suggestion.

"Morning Shepard," Garrus greeted. "Did you want to go out for breakfast this mor-"

He suddenly stopped as he realized what he was looking at.

Shepard sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, still wearing her pajamas. And despite her head bowed down, he didn't miss the streaks of tears that ran down her face. That sight alone lurched Garrus's heart to his throat. His immediate thoughts were that Shepard had a flashback this morning, a bad one at that. It had been so long since her last one that he couldn't even remember when it last happened.

Garrus quickly walked over to the bed before sitting down next to her. As he did, he noticed a folded white tea towel resting in both of her hands. "Shepard," he murmured as he wrapped his arm around her. "Talk to me."

Shepard sniffed as she blinked a few times, fresh tears falling down her face. Her lower lip quivered a bit before she finally took a deep breath just to say two simple words...

"Vinny died."

In that moment, Garrus understood why the bedroom was so quiet this morning. Shepard's beloved space hamster had a habit of running and playing in his cage in the morning as he looked forward to Shepard greeting and feeding him as soon as she was up in the morning. It was a racket Garrus got used to over time since he and Shepard started sharing a bed on the Normandy.

Garrus guessed that sometime last night after they went to bed, Vinny passed away, most likely from old age. He also realized that Shepard was holding his body within the tea towel.

Shepard took a deep breath in order to calm herself. "I know, it's silly... mourning over a little rodent... but dammit, he was _my_ rodent."

"I know," Garrus replied. "And it's not silly. You cared for him and he was there with you ever since the SR2 days."

"Damn right," Shepard said as she sniffed again. "You know... he had such a calming effect on me in between missions back then... more than the fishes did, actually. You remember when I first saw him at that gift shop? He had such a cute face, I couldn't resist. I never really had a pet until then. God... I remember how upset I was when I was incarcerated and wondering what happened to him. Somehow he got loose during the retrofits. The day I found him near Jack's little hiding place was, well... that was the first time I had hope in us winning the Reaper War. I figured, well, if I could find a little hamster I thought I lost forever, I can win this war. I was so happy when Joker and EDI brought him over here after we were settled."

Shepard frowned as she gazed at the cloth she held in her hands. "I was silly to think that Vinny would've lived forever. He seemed so... resilient."

For a few minutes after, the two of them sat in silence while Shepard stroked the cloth that covered Vinny's little body with her index finger. Garrus didn't really know what to say, but he did understand the loss Shepard was feeling. Thinking about it now, the little guy really did help Shepard get through a lot during their time on the Normandy.

"I bet he saw more action than most hamsters ever will," Garrus mentioned.

That earn a small little smile from Shepard. "Yeah... I bet he did."

She then took a deep breath as she straightened herself in her seat. "I... we really need to get ready to welcome the refugees home."

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Garrus asked with concern.

Shepard nodded. "Today's supposed to be a good day. I'd like to think the little guy would've wanted me to see this through. In the meantime, I... want to bury him, in the garden, but I just realized that we probably don't have much time.

"The freezer in the garage is empty," Garrus offered. "We can... place him there until we get home."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "Yeah... that's a good idea."

Garrus decided to take care of Vinny while Shepard got ready. He kept the small towel around him but also placed him in an empty shoebox before going to the garage to keep him in the freezer until they got home.

Shepard was in the kitchen grabbing an energy drink from the fridge by the time he got there. He also noticed that she was wearing sunglasses on her face, clearly to cover her puffy, red eyes. On one of the kitchen chairs, their cat Felix sat straight up like a statue and looking between his human and turian out of what actually looked like concern. Either that was a coincidence or he really sensed the recent loss of their little family member in the household.

"I'm _really_ glad I'm not making a speech today," Shepard pointed out. "I'm sure as hell not in the mood for one."

"You never liked making speeches to begin with," Garrus pointed out as he used one gloved talon to lightly scratch the top of Felix's head.

"I know," Shepard replied. "But still..."

He simply nodded in understanding.

An hour later, most of the town people were gathered together just at the edge of the newly built group of homes they worked tirelessly on for months. Each home was prepped and ready and each family were assigned to a home based on size and needs. The town leader, Alan Holden, stood in front of a podium looking over the gathered crowd.

Sitting amongst the crowd, Shepard only caught bits and pieces of his speech. Mostly, it was him welcoming everyone to the ceremony as well as talking about the project and it's progress. Shepard did notice the four families from the refugee camps standing with Alan. She was aware that the four chose to attend todays ceremony and move into their homes as soon as it was over. The other chosen families would come either tonight, preferring a little more privacy, or would come in the next few days after they've made whatever arrangements were needed prior to moving in.

The four families consisted of a two human families; one consisting of a husband and wife with two daughters along with the wife's elderly parents, and a male couple with a son and daughter. The third family were turian consisting of a husband and wife with two sons and a daughter. The last were a salarian couple with five kids, all boys.

At one point, Alan took out a basket, showing them to the audience before turning to show it to the four new families. "And now, I'd like to present to the families a very old human tradition," Alan started. "For those who don't know, this tradition is what we call, 'the house blessing' in the hopes that life in your new homes are filled with joy and happiness for years to come. Each basket has three edibles to represent that." He then turned to the turian family. "And yes, we do have a basket full of the dextro equivilant for you fine folks."

That earned a small chuckle from the turian couple as Alan held up the first item from the basket. "Bread – that this house may never know hunger." He then brought up the next item. "Salt – that life may always have flavor." He then held up the last item. "Wine – that joy and prosperity may reign forever."

The audience clapped and cheered as the housewarming baskets were passed to the families. Most of the adults of the new families cried with joy, feeling hope again for the first time since before the war. Most of their children were beaming and clearly looking forward to living in their new homes.

Once the ceremony was over, Shepard and Garrus decided to walk through one of the new blocks before heading back home. Not only was it a chance for her to exercise her body a bit, but it was a chance for them to see what they managed to build here. At one point, Garrus felt his stomach rumble with hunger and he asked Shepard if she wanted to stop somewhere for lunch before they went back to their house.

"No," Shepard replied, her voice a bit low. He didn't miss how solemn she sounded. "I'd rather head straight home. Maybe we'll order something for delivery. My favorite pizza place has a dextro menu now, you know."

"Are you okay?" Garrus ended up asking in concern as he reached out and took her hand in his.

Shepard shrugged as she gently squeezed his hand. "I'll be all right. I mean... seeing families getting a new home after not having a roof over their head for so long does tend to lift your spirits." She huffed a bit, more at herself. "Look at me... mourning over the loss of a pet hamster while these families had it so much worse..."

"Everyone has their problems and worries," Garrus said, squeezing her hand again. "And we all have our ways of dealing with them. Problems, worries, losses... none of it should ever be a competition."

Shepard simply leaned into his shoulder in response as they continued their slow walk. Garrus happened to gaze at the newly built homes, noting the kids of the salarian and one of the human families playing together in the front yard while their parents looked on from a small patio.

"Everything here looks so... bright and new," he mentioned.

"I like to think of it as a sign of a bright future," Shepard pointed out. At that moment, one of the salarian parents waved at them, and they both returned the gesture.

Garrus's mandibles flared a little. "That's one good way of putting it."

They happened to reach the end of the neighborhood when they noticed a bronze statue place at the entrance and surrounded by fresh red, white, pink, and orange poppy flowers. The statue itself reminded Shepard of a dyson sphere – a circular structure with bars circling either horizontally or vertically. Inside the structure was a light bulb that would turn on at night, giving the inside of the structure a small glow.

On the base was a plaque. On the top it read, 'In Memory of Our Neighbors Lost In the Reaper War – 2186.' Below that was a list of names and the ages of those who lived here and were lost in the war. Shepard let out a long sigh as she reach each name on the memorial, a part of her wondering who they were and what kind of lives they lived before they were snuffed out.

 _I'm sorry I couldn't save you..._ she found herself thinking with a frown.

It was then that Shepard felt a small tug at the hem of her shirt. She felt somewhat confused by that for a moment until she looked down. That was when she noticed a young turian girl who stood no tallter than her navel. It also took Shepard a quick second to recognize her as one of the families who just moved into one of the new homes today.

"Excuse me," the little girl started a little meekly. "Are you Commander Shepard?"

Shepard managed to give her a little smile. "Yes, I am."

To her surprise, the young turian jumped forward and quickly wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist in a tight hug. Shepard gasped slightly as the girl's mandible pinched a bit at her stomach, but she managed to ignore it as she placed her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Thank you," the girl started. "For saving me and my Mommy and Daddy and my two big brothers from those evil big machines."

Shepard couldn't help the big smile that came over her. Despite the losses she was thinking of, she was once again reminded of the lives she did save. Because of her, this little girl and her family were still alive today.

"You're welcome," Shepard finally replied after a few moments. "And welcome home."

"Krinna!" an older male turian's voice called out. "Come inside and see your new house!"

Krinna quickly pulled away and started to run off, but not before giving Shepard a big smile of her own. "Coming, Daddy! I was saying thank you to Commander Shepard!" she called out as she began to sprint over to where her father was waiting. The older man happened to stare at the couple for a moment before his own mandibles flared a bit as he nodded to them in what Garrus realized was gratitude. Garrus just managed to return the gesture before the turian and his daughter turned to head into their new home.

"That's his way of thanking you," Garrus explained just incase his mate didn't catch the cue. He happened to move himself behind her and placed a hand on her waist.

"I thought so," Shepard murmured. She smiled a little. "You do realize I'm almost an expert in turian facial expressions by now."

Garrus shrugged. "Well... I just had to make sure."

She laughed lightly as she learned her back into him. "Garrus?"

"Yeah?"

"...I'm so glad you chose this place for us to live in. I don't know if it's the timing or what, but... I love everything about it. The view, the people, just... everything. I know we talked about having homes in other worlds, but... I never want to leave this place behind forever."

She felt a small pressure on her left temple from Garrus pressing his mouthplate to her, his version of a kiss. "I'm glad too. Although I could go without the freezing weather during the winter season."

Shepard chuckled. "Yeah, well... summer's almost here. Maybe now, you'll stop hogging all the blankets."

Garrus laughed. "We'll see."

Shepard then happened to look at the memorial garden again and found herself re-reading the names on the plaque, not stopping until she read the last name on the list.

In that moment, she had an idea.

* * *

Once they returned home, Garrus helped Shepard bury Vinny in a spot alongside the house in the backyard. They were silent through the whole process, but once the last remains of the Earth were placed on top of the fresh grave, Shepard only managed to say one thing.

"If anyone bothers you in the afterlife before I get there, little guy... go for the eyes."

From that moment forward and for the next three days, Shepard began to work vigorously (or as much as her legs and hips allowed her) on the garden surrounding Vinny's grave. On the first day, she planted some new flowers and some solar lights she purchased from the green house earlier that morning. On the second day, their neighbor Meela came over one afternoon to put down some pebbles in the area she was working on. They didn't finish until dinner time.

On the third day, a package came in and Shepard asked Garrus to help her lift it because they were heavy. And she wasn't kidding either... "What in the spirits is in here?!" Garrus called out in aghast upon lifting the box. "Did you order rocks or something?"

Shepard grinned. "Yes, there are actually rocks in there."

"...You're kidding? If you wanted rocks, I would've just gone in the backyard and picked some for you."

"There's a reason for it," Shepard said. "Just help me get them to the backyard. Then I'm gonna have to ask you to go back inside. This is part of the final touch to what I've been working on and you're not allowed to see it until its done."

Garrus simply sighed at this as he did what she asked.

So it wasn't until the evening, after the sun set, when Shepard finally completed whatever gardening project she was working on. She didn't try to get Garrus to close his eyes or anything. She just simply took his hand and walked him over to the spot she had been working on. The pebbles made it look nice as well as the new poppy flowers that were placed in a half circle along with the lit solar lights. Those were nice in itself.

The main thing that caught his eye was what were in the forefront of the project; six fist-sized, nearly white-colored boulders were placed in a semi-circle. In between was a boulder half the size of the others. Each one contained a plaque and Garrus read the small one; Vinny. He realized then that the small stone was placed on top of where Vinny was buried. He then shifted his eyes to read the others from left to right;

Ashley.

Mordin.

Thane.

Legion.

David.

Garrus's breath caught in his throat as he read the name on the sixth and last boulder;

Phaedria.

His mother.

"After seeing the memorial garden in the new block of homes," Shepard began to explain. "Reading those names, well... I started thinking how nice it would be to have a little spot where I can sit and reflect and remember those we've known and lost. You know what cenotaphs are?"

Garrus nodded. "They're memorial stones where no body is present because they're either lost or resting somewhere else."

Shepard nodded as she leaned to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. "That's what I was going for here. So now, if we feel the need, you and I can come here and just... reflect, pay our respects... or however else we honor those we've lost."

"It's a wonderful idea," Garrus said as wrapped his own arm around her shoulders. "And... thank you."

Shepard gazed up at him. "For what?"

"For adding my mother's name to the garden."

Shepard responded by leaning her head into his shoulder. Garrus followed by leaning his mandible on top of her head. For a while after, they remained standing in front of the garden like this, reflecting on good memories of those they've known, loved, cherished, and lost.


	36. The Reunion: Part 1

Standing in the middle of the living, Garrus couldn't help but admire the little cabin that became his and Shepard's home. When the real estate agent showed him this place last year, it was large but felt a little cold, at least to him. But he eventually found himself imagining what he could do with the place. Even better was the fact that the cabin was somewhat isolated in an out-of-the-way little town containing a little mix of most of the galaxy's races. That alone made the cabin the best choice for a new home.

In the end, this home became perfect for them.

"What are you thinking about, Vakarian?" he heard Shepard ask. He turned to gaze at her, seeing her relaxed on the recliner with a datapad in her hand. He noted that one of her eyebrows was slightly raised, a human sign he learned long ago meant curiosity.

Garrus smiled at her. "I was just thinking... has it really been just over a year since we moved into this house?"

"As of three weeks ago, yes," Shepard reminded him with a smile of her own. "Feel like it's been longer?"

"Actually, it feels like time just flew by fast for me," Garrus answered. He shrugged a little. "Let's face it... years from now, we're both going to be wondering where the time had gone..." He grinned over his next words. "Though considering how much older you are than me, I imagine that'll be even more true for you."

"Shut it, Vakarian," Shepard growled, though there was definitely humor in her voice. "Besides, I'm not _that_ much older than you. Really, it's only by a couple of years."

"I'm just teasing," Garrus reminded her.

Shepard smiled again. "I know."

"By the way, why are you just calling me 'Vakarian' all morning?"

"Well... you always call me Shepard instead of my first name."

"Can't help it," Garrus chuckled. "It's a long-established habit from the first day I met you... though I mostly just called you Commander during the SR1 days."

Shepard shrugged. "Fair enough." She then briefly looked over the datapad she had in her hand before gazing back up at her turian lover. "It's all ready to go," she mentioned as she waved the datapad a little.

Garrus knew what she was talking about. "After a month of planning, we're _finally_ going to have that crew reunion tonight. Which reminds me..." He pointed a thumb towards the front corner of the house behind him. "As you can see, the brand new mini-bar is ready and waiting."

"I know, you finally finished it last weekend," Shepard pointed out. "Also, just a reminder too, Meela will be by in a couple of hours to pick up Felix. I feel bad about him going over there but, well..."

"I know, but even if Traynor wasn't allergic to cats, he'd probably be scared enough to not come back to the house for a couple of days. At least at Meela and Trey's house, he can enjoy some peace and quiet. Besides, we'll see him again tomorrow."

"Other than that, aside from waiting on that grill-pack order to be delivered, all we have to do is wait for the guests to arrive," Shepard said. As she said that, a frown came over her face, leaving Garrus slightly worried.

"What's on you mind?" Garrus questioned with his head tilted a bit to the left, the turian sign of curiosity.

Shepard shrugged a little. "It's just, well... I realized that there are some of our old crew who we haven't seen since I was in the hospital last year." She began to count on her fingers who they were... "Traynor, Vega, Jacob, Samara..." She then slowly shrugged again. "I shouldn't worry, but I can't help but kind of wonder what they'll see in me once they see that, well... recovery for me hasn't been quick and..."

"Shepard," Garrus began to to reassure as he approached her, placing a gently hand on her shoulder. "None of our friends who saw you in the past year have thought any less of you. They know what you've done during the war and they understand the sacrifices you had to make. They were by your side at some point or another and they'll support you now. I doubt that'll change anytime soon."

Shepard sighed as she reached her hand to place over his. "Yeah... you're right... I guess I'm just still a little down after Chakwas's diagnosis..."

"I know. But we'll get through it." Garrus managed a smile. "We always do."

"At least walking is getting better," Shepard mentioned, trying to look on the bright side. "It doesn't hurt as much as it did last year and I can stand for about a half hour before I need to sit again instead of less than five minutes... that's a huge improvement. It'll get even better as long as I take care of myself." She chuckled suddenly. "I feel like an idiot suddenly. Of course our friends won't see me any different. I'm still me and that's what matters."

"As stubborn as ever," Garrus reminded her with humor.

Shepard laughed. "Flatterer."

At that moment, Shepard's omni-tool alerted her to an incoming vid-call. Garrus gave her a gentle squeeze on her shoulder before pulling way. By then, Shepard checked to see who was calling.

"It's Admiral Hackett," Shepard mentioned to Garrus before opening her omni-tool. "Good morning, Admiral," Shepard greeted once the older man's face appeared on the screen.

"How is everything, Shepard?" Hackett asked with a small smile.

"Better than I hoped it would be, believe it or not," Shepard replied.

"I'm glad to hear that," Hackett said. He then got down to business. "I'm calling because I'd like to offer you an opportunity if you wish to take it."

That piqued Shepard's curiosity. "What kind of opportunity, sir?"

"A job position within the N7 program, something for while you're still recovering," Hackett answered. "The position opened up recently and I believe you're perfect for it. Of course, you'll still go through the interview process if you choose to accept. Despite what the N7 program is about, there'll actually be no physical work required on your part. Your main duty would be as an advisor to both trainees and new recruits. The better part is that the work would all be done over the extranet with only occasional trips to headquarters in Rio de Janeiro for conferences. The Alliance would pay for all travel expenses. You'll also retain all the benefits as any officer in the Alliance would."

In the many months since the Reaper War ended, Shepard had hoped to return full-time as an Alliance soldier once she was fully recovered from her injuries. However, in recent days, it was becoming more and more clear that recovery was going to take a while longer even with the best physical therapy in the galaxy.

Becoming an N7 Advisor was indeed a great opportunity for someone like her. It was another new, wonderful way to help the galaxy in the aftermath of the Reaper War. She could help guide new N7 recruits and, perhaps, lead them on the good path of helping the galaxy in ways she couldn't anymore.

Considering her reputation, she would easily get the job. Still, it wouldn't hurt to take a little time to make the decision first.

"If it's all right," Shepard started. "I'd like to take a day or two to think it over."

"Take your time, Shepard," Hackett encouraged. "Call me back as soon you know what you've decided. Hackett out." From there, the vid-call ended.

Garrus had heard the whole conversation from the new mini-bar he built, keeping himself occupied with checking to make sure the bar had everything they would need for tonight's reunion party. "That really sounds like a great opportunity."

"It is," Shepard agreed. "Not only would I still be working for the Alliance officially, but it's another way for me to help the galaxy in ways I currently can't. I'm practically perfect for the job."

That statement confused Garrus as it seemed like she was definitely interested in the position. "Why do you need to think about it, then?"

Shepard took a deep breath. "I just need to make sure this is right for me... that this is what I want. I don't want to just jump into something I'm not sure of."

"Funny," Garrus started with a chuckle. "You didn't seem to have that problem with jumping into crazy stunts during our time as soldiers."

Shepard gave him a humorous glare. "There's a difference between jumping into fighting a thresher maw on foot and jumping into a new job. Only one of them involves a life or death situation."

"Fair enough," Garrus laughed, getting her point. He then happened to look at the holo-clock hanging on the wall above the living room vid-screen. "In the meantime, let's prep for the reunion party. Our friends will be here in just a couple of hours."

Shepard smiled, looking forward to the evening ahead. "As Jack would say... hell yes!"

* * *

"Oh shit, is that a new mini bar?!" Jack called out as soon as Shepard let her enter the cabin. "Hell yes!"

Shepard couldn't help but laugh. "Try not to overindulge," she advised.

"Hey," Jack started. "Haven't I mentioned the one great benefit of an overcharged biotic amp? I can drink as much as I want until I puke and wake up peachy. No hangovers for me."

"I remember that," Shepard pointed out. "Just... don't overindulge anyway, just in case."

"We'll see," Jack said before she headed over to the newly-built bar.

Shepard smiled to herself as she turned to look over the living room. With Jack's arrival, all of the invited guests who were able to make it to the party finally showed up. Over by the mini bar, Jack joined Kaidan, Cortez, Joker, EDI, and Vega, who were already enjoying their own mixed beverages. On the right of the bar was Liara's info drone, Glyph, the glowing blue orb clearly observing the party (and even went more festive again with it's little bow tie). Just a few feet away, Garrus was entertaining Wrex, Grunt, Javik, and Zaeed with one of his more lighthearted stories of his Archangel days. Over by the couch, Tali, Liara, and Traynor were chatting over something that soon made them giggle. On the other couch, Miranda and Jacob were having a quiet conversation, likely catching up on old times and what they were up to nowadays. Kasumi, who had already made her presence known to Shepard, was most likely in cloak mode spying on (and recording) the party. Finally, Samara was sitting at the desk chair quietly, a small drink in hand.

Shepard decided to join Samara for a little bit. Carefully, she made her way over to the Justicar and once she was within arm's reach, Samara turned to her, a small smile playing on her face.

"Shepard," Samara greeted. "I am glad you invited me to join in these festivities again. And might I say, your new home is lovely."

Shepard smiled. "Thank you, Samara, and I'm happy you accepted our invitation. How are you these days?"

It was Samara's turn to smile. "Quite well, actually. I'm at peace moreso than I've ever been in the last four-hundred years. The needs of a Justicar still call me to occasionally, but since the war end, I've spent half of my time on Lesuss."

Shepard knew what planet she meant, which reminded her... "How's your daughter, Falere?"

Samara's smile became fond. "Very well. As she promised, Falere remains at the Ardat-Yakshi monastary. The monastary itself still has a long way to go in rebuilding. Aside from that, Falere is content despite losing her friends and... Rila. On my last visit, she started a flower garden behind the monastary. The project has brought her a sense of peace over time."

"I know what you mean," Shepard mentioned. "My own garden brought some peace for myself, especially the memorial section I made not too long ago. I don't know if you saw it yet..."

"Yes, I did see, it's quite lovely and a great honor to those we've lost," Samara replied.

"You're welcome to meditate in the garden whenever you like," Shepard offered.

"I was just thinking that would be a nice idea," Samara said. "Perhaps I will once we bring the festivities outside."

Shepard decided then to check on the rest of the part. Before she left, she told Samara, "If you need anything – snacks, drinks, or even another chat, let me know."

"Thank you, Shepard," the justicar answered sincerely.

Shepard turned around and walked to where the couches and recliner were set up in a semi-circle in the middle of the living room. The recliner was empty and Shepard decided to take a seat.

On the two-seater couch, Miranda and Jacob were having their own quiet conversation. However on the three-seater couch, Tali, Liara, and Traynor's conversation was easier to overhear.

"Soooo," Tali started, a teasing lilthe in her voice as she stared at Liara. "You and Jaaaavik."

 _Oh boy,_ Shepard thought to herself. _I hope poor Tali's not drunk already_.

She still remembered Tali in the bathroom of her apartment back on the Citadel which included random ramblings. One rambling in particular involved Tali mumbling something about Garrus 'being with Shepard,' and then followed by, 'Oh? The three of us? Hmmm..." Shepard's only response at the time was to go to the bar on the other side of the apartment and down four shots of whiskey. To this day, Shepard never brought it up (even to Garrus) and she didn't think Tali would remember saying that. Even if the quarian did, well... Shepard imagined that it would've been an awkward conversation for the both of them anyway.

Liara immediately glared at Tali, knowing what she was trying to get at. "It's not like that at all," the asari replied in annoyance. "Javik and I are just friends who happen to spend a lot of time together. Not to mention writing a book together."

"Uh huuuuh," Tali uttered, only half believing her. "I seeee the way he loooooks at you ever since the SR-2. He liiiiikes you."

Shepard tried not to laugh as she noticed Liara's cheeks flush darker.

"Oh stop teasing poor Liara, Tali," said Traynor even though she was giggling herself.

Tali pointed to the human woman. "So should I teeeease you about your crush on EDI's voice?"

Traynor's jaw dropped in a bit of surprise over that. "Are we _still_ bringing that up after all this time? Besides, I said before, I've moved on."

Suddenly, Kasumi uncloaked from behind the couch, her face hovering over just between Traynor and Liara. "Are you sure?" the thief asked, her voice clearly toned in a way that Shepard knew she was about to provoke them somehow. "Then again... if Javik doesn't work out, Liara... I can set you and Traynor up on a lovely date at this great restaurant I know of in Illium." She then quickly cloaked again before she gave anyone the chance to reply.

"Kasumi!" Liara shouted as Traynor found herself stammering in embarassment, both their cheeks flushed.

Now Shepard couldn't help but laugh. "Suddenly, I feel like I'm watching one of those rom com vids, but in person."

"Har har," Traynor grumbled. She then quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Shepard, the cheese platter you got is great. I didn't even know half of them even existed."

"And at least they're marked properly this time," Tali pointed out. "Last time, I almost poisoned myself when I accidentally ate a piece of levo cheese." She sighed. "Shame because it tasted sooooo good."

"Hey, I'm sorry that happened," Shepard started. "But they were marked last time. You just got distracted by Traynor and EDI's conversation over Traynor's voice kink."

"Ugh, can't we _not_ , please?" Traynor asked, almost pleading.

"No sushi platter this time, Shepard?" Liara asked. "I remember they were quite tasty."

"Nah, not this time," Shepard stated before adding in her head, _And I don't need ribbing over destroying the best sushi place on the Citadel... again._ "Besides, we're gonna have a big barberque cookout later this evening when we take the party outside."

"A real cheeseburger with barberque sauce sounds _really_ good right about now," Traynor mentioned. "At this point, I have to remind myself not to stuff myself too much on cheese and crackers. That reminds me, do we have more crackers?"

"In the kitchen," Shepard said.

Traynor got up from the couch and began to head to the kitchen. "Thanks!" she called out.

"I'm gonna get more wine," Tali announced as she got up to head over to the new mini-bar.

"And I'm gonna step outside for a moment," Liara said as she got up. "It'll be a good to get a little fresh air for a moment while I check for messages."

"Liara, relax," Shepard reminded her. "Enjoy the party. I'm sure everything will be fine and the messages will still be there when the party's over."

Liara chuckled. "Yes, you're right. I did set an alert for emergency messages at least. In that case, I'll just go outside and enjoy the fresh air." With that, Liara began heading to the front door with Glyph following her. Shepard had a feeling that Liara would probably check her messages anyway, but decided to let it go for now... at least for a half hour.

That left Shepard alone with Miranda and Jacob, both who sat across from her.

"Shepaaard," Jacob greeted as he raised a glass of beer to her from where he sat. "Nice place you got here. Wish I could've visited sooner."

"Glad you like it," Shepard replied with a smile. "How are you, Jacob?"

"I'm good," Jacob answered. "Been busy the past two years. I've been mostly helping out the Cerberus defecters getting themselves safely set up at various posts around the galaxy."

"With my help sometimes," Miranda added, though there was a bit of amusement in her voice at that statement.

"Yeah yeah," Jacob grumbled before he continued. "Thanks to their help with the Crucible, they've earned the Alliance's protection. As a matter of fact, the Alliance actually removed my 'dishonorable discharge' record and changed it to 'honorably discharge.' Crazy, huh?"

Shepard tilted her head at that. "Really?"

"Yeah," Jacob sighed. "Strange how things can change after emerging from the brink of war... Too little too late, but if anything, I can now earn some benefits for the sake of my family..."

Shepard nodded in understanding, knowing that was a bitter topic for the former Cerberus operative. "How is your family?"

Jacob smiled as he began to bring up something on his omni-tool. "They're great. Brynn's been busy with work, but the both of us always make time for our little one. And for the record, I managed to talk Brynn out of naming her 'Shepard.' No offense."

"None taken," Shepard replied.

His omni-tool soon brought up and Shepard saw the smiling face of a little girl who was barely two-years-old. Aside from thick, curly black hair, she was the splitting image of her mother.

"She's cute," Shepard said with a warm smile.

Jacob beamed with pride. "Is she, isn't she? We named her after our mothers; Rosalie Delilah. Rosey for short."

"He made me Rosey's Godmother," Miranda added as she pointed to Jacob.

"You once said I was a protector and that would make me a good father," Jacob said to the older woman. "You have that too, Miranda, with Oriana. That's why I picked you as Rosey's Godmother... because I know you would take good care of her if anything happened to Brynn and I."

"It's true," Shepard said. "I know most people have trouble seeing it, but anytime you were around Oriana, there's no doubt you're good at being a protector yourself."

Miranda's blue eyes gazed down at the floor as she absentmindedly scratched her collarbone. Shepard swore the former operative blushed a little, but chose not to say anything. "I... appreciate that," she managed to say. "Especially since I didn't feel like one for a while during the war."

Suddenly, from behind Shepard, their conversation was cut off as Cortez yelled out, " _Ugh!_ Joker, did you actually try to serve me that shitty stuff you call a 'drink?' Again?!"

"Hey, I eased off on the mouthwash this time!" Joker claimed.

"Not by much!" Cortez groaned.

Shepard couldn't help but smile as she slowly and carefully stood herself up from the recliner, thankful that she didn't let herself get _too_ settled. "Well, I should go see what the riff-raff over at the bar are up to. Have fun, you two."

"We will," Jacob promised. "And thanks, Shepard."

With that, Shepard paced herself over to the newly-built mini-bar. Once she reached it, she sat on the only available barstool. Surrounding her now were Cortez, who sat on the other stool, Kaidan, Joker, EDI, Jack, and Vega. Joker and Vega were behind the bar making drinks while EDI, Jack, and Kaidan sat off to the side of the table.

"Hey Shepard," Cortez greeted. "Don't mind me. I was just reminded why Joker has forever ruined mouthwash for me."

"So I overheard," Shepard replied.

That was when Vega pushed a glass in Shepard's direction. "Hey Lola, try this. It's my own little invention."

Shepard stared at the drink for a moment, noting it's red color, before gazing back up at the younger soldier. "What's in it?"

"Just try it," Vega pushed.

Shepard's eyes narrowed as she became suspicious. "It's poison, isn't is?"

" _Well_ , it is in a way," Kaidan brought up.

"You know what I mean," Shepard pointed out as she took the glass in her hand. "Well Vega, I hope this is any good..."

"Nothing can be worse than Joker's 'Horse Choker,'" mentioned Cortez.

Shepard took a sip of the drink and let it go down, feeling the burn of the alcohol go down her throat. "Not bad," Shepard said with a nod. "Now can you tell me what it is?"

"I call it _Rojo Loco_ ," Vega replied. "It has Havana Club dark rum with Chambord, raspberry syrup, and a little bit of lime."

"That's weak!" Jack called out as she just finished mixing her own cocktail for Shepard to try. She then pushed the glass towards her. "Here Shepard, try this. Let me tell you, this drink is _not_ for pussies."

Shepard raised an eyebrow as she stared at the brown-red liquid in her glass. "Are you guys _trying_ to get me drunk at my own reunion party?"

"No, ma'am," Joker replied.

"From my past observation," EDI cut in. "Shepard's physiology, especially after her Cerberus upgrades, allows her to, as most would say, 'hold her liquor.' That is, of course, with the exception of ryncol."

"Don't remind me," Shepard grumbled as she took the drink Jack made and took a sip. She nearly spat out her drink upon tasting the bitterness _plus_ something hot and spicy that burned at her lips. She forced herself to swallow, feeling it burn even more than Vega's drink did.

"Well, you weren't kidding about this drink not being for pussies," Shepard pointed out. "What is this? It's bitter and spicy."

"I know," Jack said with a proud grin. "The rim of the glass has tabasco sauce on it. It also has whiskey, bourbon, vodka, and Red Bull. Haven't named it yet, but I was leaning towards _Psychotic Biotic._ "

Shepard managed to smile. "Sounds... interesting."

"Now I actually think Jack is the one trying to kill you, Lola," Vega pointed out.

"Nah," Shepard said. "If Jack wanted to kill me, she would've thrown me across the room with her biotics and smeared me against the floor by now."

Jack balked in laughter at that. "You know me too well, Shepard."

Shepard moved her hand to Vega's drink and raised the glass in his direction. "Hey Vega, I heard you managed to get through the training and finally earned your N7 rank. Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Lola," Vega replied, his face beaming with pride. "Though I'll admit, I'm not sure I could've finished it without your encouragement."

Shepard gave him a light punch on the arm. "You would've been fine without me."

"Maybe," Vega continued. "Now that I'm an N7, I know what's expected of me and I'll give it my all. Although I hope you don't mind if I call you for advice once in a while."

That made Shepard think about the offer Admiral Hackett told her about this morning; to take on the position as an N7 Advisor. She hadn't thought about the position much since the offer was put on the table, but Vega's comment did remind her of the benefits of becoming one; to offer insight to soldiers like him. Plus, so many like Vega could benefits from the unique perspective the Savior of the Galaxy had.

For now though, she shook the thoughts out of her head, preferring to enjoy the reunion party for now. "Not at all," Shepard answered after a moment of silence.

She then happened to look over to see Garrus standing with Wrex, Grunt, Zaeed, and Javik. Decided to check up on them, she got herself up from the stool. "Well, enjoy the party," Shepard said. "Just don't drink too much and cause trouble."

"No promises, Commander," Joker replied.

Shepard chuckled as grabbed the glass with Vega's _Rojo Loco_ and walked away. _At least they're being honest... just hope the cabin's still standing by morning..._

"In my cycle," Javik started just as Shepard joined Garrus's side. She felt Garrus's hand linger over her lower back as the Prothean continued, "There was no need for parties such as this. Nobody's prepared. There was always need to prepare for a fight."

"Oh trust me," Wrex responded. "We're _always_ ready for a fight."

"Yeah," Grunt cut in. "With lots of guns and head-butting. Before you know it, this house will be nothing but a rubble."

"Don't... you... dare..." Shepard warned, unsure if the tank-bred was serious or not.

Grunt's chest rumbled in humor. "Don't worry, Battlemaster, I was kidding... sort of."

Zaeed lightly tapped Shepard's arm. "This is another good reason all my home defense suggestions are worthwhile. Goddamn preparation is key."

"Well..." Shepard started. "We did recently freeze some Cornish game hens in the freezer."

"I fixed up the wine cooler so it shoots crushed glass with formic acid crystal," Garrus mentioned.

"Niiice," Zaeed uttered.

Shepard gazed up at the turian unsurely. "You... did remember to... eh... deactivate that feature before the party, right?"

Garrus chuckled. "Of couse I did. As a matter of fact, I even went out of my way to remove the glass packs and put them in a safe place. Not even a sniper's trained eye can find it."

Shepard sighed with relief. "Good. Now we don't have to worry about anyone getting paralyzed..."

"I've heard of formic acid crystal and its effects," Wrex said. "Not sure if that would work on a krogan though."

"Hmmm... that would be goddamn interesting to test out next time I tango with a krogan," Zaeed wondered a loud. "Preferably one whose a member of those arseholes in the Blood Pack."

"Let me know how that works out," Garrus said. He then turned his attention to Shepard. "Hey... since everyone's here now, did you want to, you know... welcome them all here."

Shepard took a deep breath for a moment. "Yeah, sure. That's a good idea."

Overhearing that, Wrex chose that moment to bellow, "HEY! PYJAKS!" That definitely silenced the room and grabbed everyone's attention. "Shut up for a moment Shepard has something to say to all of us!"

"Eh... thanks Wrex," Shepard said as she turned to look at everyone. She saw them all here awaiting whatever she had to say. In that moment, she smiled, thrilled to finally get all of her crew together for this reunion party once more.

She only wished that _everyone_ was here today... but perhaps they were in a way in spirit...

"First off," Shepard started. "I promise I'm going to make this speech short. Second of all, I want to thank all of you for accepting our invite to tonight's party and reunion. It's really great to see all of you in one room again.

"As you know, it's been just over two years since the Reaper War ended. Many have said over the months that had it not been for me, the galaxy would've never been able to see the end of the war. Sure, that may be, but the truth is however..." Shepard found that she needed a moment to take a breath as she looked around the room, spotting each and every person watching her now. "The truth is that you were all there with me through the journey. You supported me when I needed it most. I was able to do what needed to be done with the strength and courage of all you either standing by my side of at my back. I wouldn't been able to accomplish anything if it weren't for all of you."

Shepard raised her glass. "To all of us! And no matter where we are in life and in this galaxy, may our camaraderie always remain strong." Everyone else raised their glasses in agreement, causing a swell of pride to grow in their commander's heart.

Shepard then grinned wide. "Now... let's go outside and enjoy this party!"

Everyone clapped and cheered once the speech was done. As everyone began to disperse and head outside, Kaidan approached the couple. "Hey Shepard, Garrus" Kaidan started. "Why don't I help with cooking the barberque for everyone? That way, you two can relax after all the planning you put into the party."

"I have no qualms about that," Shepard said. She then grinned at him, remembering that one time on the Citadel where she teased him about assassinating her by poisoned food the last time he cooked them dinner. "It'll be a great way to make sure you don't try to kill me by poisoning the food."

Kaidan groaned at that. "Oh come on, don't start with that again."

Garrus chuckled as he patted Kaidan on the back. "Relax, Alenko, she's only kidding. And actually, I remember a time where I said I would teach you how to cook a good dextro steak. I think it's about time that happened. Just provide the beer."

Kaidan laughed. "Deal."

"All right, it's about time we brought the party outside," Shepard said as everyone began to move outside.


	37. The Reunion: Part 2

The sun had set over the horizon not too long ago, but there was still some light leftover in the sky. The party at the Shepard-Vakarian home had moved outside after some relaxation inside. Music was playing, string lights on tall stakes illuminated the yard, the grill was on with the charcoal smell emitting in the warm air, and more importantly, everyone was chatting it up and having a good time.

Shepard, with Garrus standing next to her, watched as Kaidan cooked a variety of foods on the grill; a few hamburgers sizzled in one corner while a rack of ribs rested at the back. Kaidan took a moment to brush some barbeque sauce onto the ribs while Cortez added some corn on the cobs in another available space.

"That smell delicious," Garrus mentioned. "Too bad it's all levo."

"But I recall that you've actually tasted some levo samples before that didn't harm you," Kaidan reminded.

"Yeah, but it's always a risk when you try new stuff."

"Generally, isn't trying anything new, especially something that's unknown, always a risk?" questioned Cortez.

Garrus laughed. "That's true usually, but not when biology is involved."

"Fair enough."

"Speaking of levo foods I've actually eaten and turned out fine," Garrus started as he pointed at the corn on the cobs that were starting to cook. "I can say for sure that turian mouths were _not_ meant to eat corn in that form."

"But that's the fun part!" Shepard called out. "Especially when you put lots of butter on it."

"My mouth is watering already just thinking about it," Cortez added.

Kaidan chuckled as he turned his attention to Cortez. "Just be patient, Steve. You won't regret it."

Cortez smiled warmly at him. "I haven't so far."

That definitely caught Shepard's attentioned as she shifted her eyes between the two of them, a smile growing on her face. "Soooo... are you two..."

The two men laughed a little nervously as they stared at each other as though asking each other a silent question. There were a few beats before Cortez finally said with a smile, "I'm sure they figured it out by now."

"Yeah, we are," Kaidan finally said with a chuckle. His cheeks were a bit flushed, but it was hard to tell whether it was from the heat of the grill or the current conversation. "But with our jobs and everything, we've been taking things slow."

"I thought I noticed something going on between you two last year when we were in London," Garrus pointed out as he lightly patted the both of them on the back. "Congratulations."

"Seriously," Shepard agreed. "I'm so happy for the two of you."

Cortez smiled warmly again. "Thanks Shepard."

"That means a lot," Kaidan agreed.

"Just... do me a favor," Shepard started. "If you two ever decide to get married... _please_ don't have a Shepard-themed wedding."

"A what now?" Kaidan asked confused.

"You remember Conrad Verner and that girl Jenna we helped at Chora's Den when we were on the SR1?" Garrus asked. He continued after Kaidan nodded. "Well long story short, they both threw their first Shepard-themed wedding together and ended up on the news for it."

Both human men burst into fits of hysterics after hearing that, causing Shepard to narrow her eyes at them."You done laughing now?" she grumbled. "Because I think those burgers are starting to overcook judging by the char smell."

"Oh sh-!" Kaidan yelled out as he grabbed a spatula to flip the burgers.

Shepard happened to turn her head just in time to see a small group consisting of Wrex, Grunt, Joker, Jack, Jacob, and Vega by the lake. Grunt was taking off his armor as the others whooped and cheered. She knew right then and there that Grunt was about to jump into the lake.

"Eh... excuse me," Shepard uttered as she began to make her way over to the rowdy group.

For once, she was grateful for her slow legs because when she was halfway to the group, Grunt, who stripped to his undersuit, went running as fast as possible towards the lake. "CANONBALL!" he hollered as he jumped forward. He curled himself into a ball before landing in the lake, a large splash following after. The waves went up and out and soon soaked everyone within range, the edge of it just landing in front of Shepard's feet.

"My hat!" Joker cried out.

"Good thing I brought a change of clothes," Jacob said.

"That was nothing!" Wrex called out with a laugh.

"Fuck, man!" Jack yelled out as she removed her leather jacket. "Now my make-up's probably running."

"I didn't think you'd care about that sort of thing," Vega pointed out.

Jack glared at the younger soldier. "I oughta throw a shockwave at you and knock you into the water."

Vega laughed. "Actually, that'd be friggin' awesome."

"Let's not," Shepard warned as she approached the group.

"Awe man," Vega grumbled in disappointment.

By then, Grunt emerged from the water in howling laughter. "That was fun!" he called out as he got out of the lake.

Vega suddenly laughed as a thought came to him. "Okay, Grunt, one of these days I _have_ to take you to a human water park. They have water slides, and this one I used to go to as a kid makes waves in this one pool that's bound to be a challenge for you to fight."

"I can only imagine that sight," said Jacob.

"Heh, heh, heh," Grunt rumbled with glee. "That sounds awesome."

"Do humans really waste all that water for humor?" asked a baffled Wrex.

"Don't look at me," quipped Jack. "I've never been to a water park before."

"Next time I go, I'll take you," said Vega.

Jack snorted. "What, like a date or something?"

Vega's eyes suddenly went wide at that. "Uh... no, that's not... not, like... I meant when I take Grunt, you can come with us."

Now Jack was laughing. "Did you think I was actually serious when I asked that?! But why the hell not? Watching Grunt go down water slides oughta be interesting."

"I'd tag along if the wave pool alone didn't risk breaking a femur," added Joker.

"I still think it's a waste of water," grumbled Wrex.

Joker turned his head to Shepard, who was listening in on the whole conversation. "Hey Commander, if Vega manages to take you to the water park too, take a ton of pictures, especially of you screaming while sliding down the 'world's tallest water slide' attractions."

Shepard chuckled at that. "We'll see."

By that time, Kaidan called out to let everyone know that some of the food was ready to eat. Upon reaching the serving table Garrus placed out earlier, Shepard served herself a cheeseburger with a side of potato salad and a couple of ribs. She then moved over to one of the tables that were set out under the string of lights. For now, she sat by myself since it looked like, at another table, Liara was having a quiet conversation with Javik, the two of them with meals already in front of them.

Javik grumbled something under his breath before he finally said, "So... am I to assume what whatever is on my plate will be ruling the galaxy in fifty thousand years?"

That earned a baffled gaze from Liara. "Eh... I don't know. I, eh... don't think cows are that advanced yet."

Javik snorted at that. "The Protheans thought the same thing about humans all that time ago. Look at them now. Then again, they were just able to speak while living in caves."

Now Liara just simply rolled her eyes. "Let's just... eat."

Suddenly, Javik glared just over Liara's shoulder. "I _know_ you're there, human! You can't hide from the advanced eyes of a Prothean!"

A giggle was heard as Kasumi removed herself from cloaking mode. "Sorry. I was just thinking how you should _really_ try to ease this tension between you two. You know, Liara, that Illium restaurant offer still stands if you want to take Javik with you... or Traynor instead."

"Kasumi, stop!" Liara yelled out just as the human ran off and went into cloak mode again. That was when Liara happened to see Shepard and let out an exasperated sigh. "You saw that, Shepard. That's the second time she pulled that on me today."

"I know," Shepard replied. "I'll can try to tell her to lay off if you want."

Liara groaned a little as she rested her face on her hand. "Something tells me that'll be easier said than done."

By then, Miranda joined Shepard at her table, a plate of corn, green salad, and a couple of ribs on her plate. "Hey Shepard."

"Hey Miranda," Shepard greeted. "Enjoying the party?"

Miranda smiled. "I am actually. I haven't been this relaxed since, well... your last party. The fresh air this time is definitely a plus."

"I should throw one of these every couple of years or so," Shepard said. "It'd be a great way for all of us to get together again."

"That's true," Miranda agreed. "When else can we all get together like this?"

"Hopefully not during a war," Shepard answered.

Miranda chuckled at that. "True. We'll just stick to parties then."

From there, the two of them talked a bit more while eating their meals, mainly about Miranda's work with setting up security protocals alongside the Alliance. The work, of course, was primarily focused on the Citadel arms, and the Presidium, that were still operating.

"They believe Zakera Ward will finally reopen within a year," Miranda mentioned. By then, she had finished her own meal. "That would just leave Tayseri, except, well... most of it is beyond repair. The parts that were salvagable might be used for a memorial for those who died on that ward."

"Really?" Shepard uttered with interest.

"It's just a thought right now, it just depends on how the project will look and whether that ward is able to support it." Miranda stood up then, taking her empty plate in hand. "Do you want a cocktail?"

"I'm good with the iced tea for now, but thank you Miranda," Shepard said. "Enjoy the rest of the party."

Miranda simply smiled before she left. A few minutes later, Shepard took the time to enjoy her meal (and reminded herself to thank Kaidan... he really was a great cook). As she did, she was surprised to see Samara and Zaeed walking side by side with a plate in each hand. Samara looked a bit bored and Zaeed didn't seem to notice yet.

"So," Zaeed started. "If you, eh... remember my offer about sitting in front of the fireplace and snuggling? That still stands if you want to take it."

Samara glared at the merc. "My answer is still 'no.'"

Zaeed raised his hands at that. "All right all right. Didn't hurt to ask again. But, eh... have you ever heard of taxidermy?"

"I don't believe I have."

"It's a work of art, let me tell you," Zaeed continued. "And it's something I think would work well in the dark wilderness such as the one we're in now..."

Shepard shook her head in amusement as they were now out of her earshot. Shame... she was curious to know what Samara thought of taxidermy.

She had just finished the last of her potato salad when Tali, Traynor, and EDI joined her. Tali and Traynor had their own food (with Tali's in a sterilized container) while EDI didn't need any nourishment.

"Since you're sitting here by yourself, I thought it'd be the best time to bother you," Tali teased as she got her meal set up with her 'emergency induction port.' Shepard managed to surpress a smile over that little memory.

"Thanks for that Tali, and it's not a bother at all," Shepard replied. "Have you tried the dextro beer Garrus got sterilized for you yet?"

"Not yet, but I plan on it. I'm trying not to get too drunk like last time... ugh, keelah, that was embarassing."

 _You're telling me_ , Shepard thought, deciding not to voice that. She then turned to the AI next to her. "Are you having fun, EDI?"

"I am," EDI answered. "Observing human behavior at gatherings like this is always fun."

"That's... comforting," Traynor said unsurely.

Deciding to change the subject, Shepard turned her attention to the communications specialist. "Hey Traynor, how are you these days?"

"Doing well actually," Traynor replied before she took a bite of her barbeque cheeseburger. She took a moment to enjoy it before she swallowed and continued. "The Alliance is keeping me busy with establishing comms between settlements around the galaxy. I work mostly in Vancouver, but sometimes they'll send me out to other places when needed. Once the job is done, they think they want to have me posted on a ship since I did so well during the war."

"No going back to the lab?"

Traynor smiled. "For now, no. My experience on the Normandy has spoiled me from lab work. I blame you, Commander."

"That was exactly what I set out to do all this time," Shepard teased.

Traynor laughed. "Well then, glad I had a great teacher."

After dinner, Shepard rejoined Garrus at one of the other tables. Also there were Zaeed, Joker, EDI, Vega, Tali, Jack, Kaidan, Cortez, and Traynor. Liara, Javik, Samara, Miranda, and Jacob went back inside the house for right now while Wrex and Grunt headed off to town for a beer run (and hopefully not get themselves in trouble).

Vega was pouring everyone a drink, convincing all at the table moments ago to play a drinking game. "This one is called 'Never Have I Ever-'"

"Ugh, really Vega?" growled Traynor.

"Oh come on, this ought to be fun," quipped Shepard.

"If Shepard's in, so am I," said Zaeed.

"Oh great," Traynor groaned. "This going to be one of those moments where some kind of truth comes out that makes everyone get into a fight."

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," mentioned Garrus.

"Unless you're too drunk otherwise, Vakarian," said Jack.

"Says the woman with the advantage of biotics," replied Tali.

"What about EDI?" questioned Kaidan. "I don't think she can get drunk."

"I only plan to watch and observe this game," EDI answered.

"In other words, she's probably going to record all of this," guessed Cortez. EDI only replied with what looked like a subtle smile, but no one said anything.

"Anyway," Vega continued after topping off everyone's cups. "For those who never played the game, here's how it goes. Each of us will go around the table and say, for example, 'Never have I ever drank beer.' If you actually _never_ drank beer... which is doubtful but that's another story... then you _don't_ drink from your cup. If you actually _did_ drink beer, even that one time when you were a teenager, take a sip from your cup. Whoever drinks the least at the end of the game wins."

"Something tells me we're not going to keep track," mentioned Joker.

"Probably not," Vega chuckled as he sat down. "Okay, so I'll start. Never have I ever, eh... cried in public because of a song."

"Okay, that's lame, especially as a starter," said Kaidan... just as Cortez took a sip of his drink. Kaidan sighed at that. "Now I feel like an asshole..."

"Don't worry about it," Cortez assured him.

"Out of curiosity, what song was it?" asked Shepard.

"Not sure actually," Cortez replied. "But it was playing while some of the other fighter pilots and I were taking a shuttle to a dock location in Eden Prime. I thought my helmet would hide my reaction, but well... turned out the mic was on. Luckily, no one gave me hell for it."

"Okay, my turn," pipped up Jack. "Never have I ever had sex with my superior officer."

"You make it sound so much more dirty than it should be," Garrus replied right before he took a sip of his dextro beer while Shepard laughed.

Kaidan also took a sip of his own beer. "Tell me about it," he agreed. "Okay... never have I ever, um... dined and dashed."

Not surprisingly, Zaeed, Jack, and Vega took a sip, but everyone was shocked when Traynor took a sip, too!

"Okay Traynor, story time," Joker chuckled.

"It happened when I was a student at Oxford and it wasn't even my fault!" Traynor called out. "No one even told me what was going on. I happened to have too much champagne and everyone was suddenly gone. I thought the bill was paid, but it turned out everyone was aware of the plan except me!"

"You sure they try to make sure _you_ paid the bill with that move?" questioned Zaeed.

"Actually, they were sure I knew the plan," Traynor said. "Though if I really did know, I would've had _no_ part in it at all! Either way, I never stepped foot in that restaurant again. And they had great champagne, too!"

"Look at you Traynor," Shepard teased. "Such a rebel you are. And all this time, I never knew. They do say it's always the quiet ones you don't expect this from."

"Ugh... if we weren't already playing this game, I would've drank the rest of my beer."

"Whose turn is it?" asked Jack.

"Mine," replied Cortez. "Never have I ever... worked with someone I hated with the burrning passion of a thousand suns."

Of course Jack took a sip and everyone knew it was about Miranda. Then again, _everyone_ tasted their own drinks in that moment.

"So, there's one we can all relate to after all," said Tali.

"Speaking of," started Joker as he turned to Jack. "How are you and Miranda these days? Have you kissed and make-up yet?"

"The cheerleader's a little better than usual, though I still hate her bubbly butt," Jack replied after rolling her eyes. "My guess though is that she recently received a good screw if you know what I mean."

"Yeeeah didn't want to hear that," grumbled Cortez. "Traynor, you're next."

"All right," Traynor responded. "Never have I ever... looked through someone else's messages without permission."

Shepard sighed as she took a sip. But so did Garrus. "Hey, it was part of our jobs, you know," he explained. "Being a detective and all."

"Uh huh," teased Vega. "Joker, you're next."

"All right then!" Joker called out. "Never have I ever flashed a bartendar for a free drink."

Of course Jack took a sip, but everyone was surprised when Shepard did, too!

"What?!" Garrus yelled out in shock. "When was this?"

"Long before I met any of you," Shepard laughed. "It was my birthday and it was done on a dare by one of my fellow comrades in arms during shore leave." She purposefully primped her hair with her hand. "I was such an innocent bird back in the day."

"Whatever you say, Commander," uttered Vega.

"Hey, for the record, it worked! I got four free drinks out of it!"

"EDI, did you want to throw in a question?" asked Joker.

"No thank you," EDI replied. "I'm enjoying myself as an observer."

"Honestly EDI, I would be too," Shepard admitted.

"That makes it my turn then," said Tali. "Never have I ever... had children."

No one took a sip... except Zaeed, much to everyone's shock. After his finished his drink, everyone fell quiet, unsure of what to think of that revelation. It was something he easily could've lied about, but for some reason decided to reveal it anyway just by that action alone.

It was Tali who finally said something. "Keelah, I'm really sorry Zaeed. When I asked that, I was assuming that everyone here didn't have kids and thought, 'hey, here's a free card for everyone!'"

"Yeah, well, I never talked about it before so you had no reason to assume otherwise," Zaeed replied.

"Care to share?" asked Cortez.

Zaeed shrugged. "Not much to share. I was married briefly to a woman for a short time, but left after our son was born because the marriage was miserable for both of us. Kid grew up without me around because I was too goddamn busy with merc work. He was better off not knowing me anyway."

Kaidan hissed slightly at that. "That's... heavier than I expected."

"If you don't mind me asking," started Shepard. "Do you think you'd want to try to reunite with him someday?"

"Even if I wanted to, that ain't gonna happen," Zaeed answered. "Last I heard, he went off to join that Initiative that headed towards the Andromeda galaxy a few years back. Those ships are probably out in dark space by now if those goddamn Reapers hadn't caught 'em on their way to obliterate the rest of us arseholes here."

Hearing all that had everyone fall into silence for a few seconds as no one was sure of what to say. Eventually though, Garrus cleared his throat. "I believe it's my turn. Never have I ever sung karaoke in front of people."

Joker, Vega, Tali, and Traynor all took a sip of their drinks. To lighten the mood, Shepard asked, "Any of you remember the songs you sang?"

"Totally was 'Hooked on a Feeling,'" replied Vega. "If I recall passed my drunk state at that time, it was that Hasselhoff version from the 1980s."

"The what now?" asked a confused Garrus. "My translator glitched at... whatever the hell you said."

"Just the name of who sung it at the time," Vega explained.

"Don't even ask," added Joker. "I couldn't even remember the bar I was singing in at the time."

"Mine was 'I Was Lost Without You,' from the _Fleet and Flotilla_ soundtrack," said Tali.

"Of course it was," Garrus chuckled. "Okay Shepard, your turn."

"Mine's not all that creative," Shepard warned. "Never have I ever pressed send and immediately regretted it."

Garrus sighed as Kaidan, Cortez, Traynor, and Tali all took a sip from their cups. "Does that one time involving Felix and an important message to Victus count?" the turian asked.

Shepard laughed. "Yes it does, Vakarian."

Garrus groaned before drinking his beer.

"Okay, here's one I'm sure almost everyone has done including yours truly," Zaeed said as he realized it was his turn. "Never have I ever punched someone."

Except Joker and Traynor, everyone else took a sip. "I'm sure I would've joined all of you on that if I didn't risk breaking my fingers more than your guys," Joker mentioned.

The group went a couple of more rounds at the table before they realized that they lost track of who drank the most (though poor Traynor looked more inebriated than the rest, though no one was sure whether or not it was from drinking more than the others or being a lightweight). During that time, Samara, Miranda, Jacob, Liara, and Javik rejoined everyone outside and watched the game (with Javik mumbling, 'what's the point?' at one time). Everyone it stopped once Wrex and Grunt returned with cases of beer and spirits from the town's liquor store.

"Hey Shepard," Wrex said when he approached her a little _too_ carefully even for a krogan. "I, eh... should let you know that the liquor store we went to, well... eh... not only did Grunt break half the bottles while running around, but by the time we left, it was on fire."

Shepard's eyes went wide in horror upon hearing that after nearly dropping her cup of beer. " _WHAT?!_ YOU DIDN'T!"

Grunt suddenly burst out laughing. "HA! I told you the look on her face would be great!" By then, Wrex was chuckling too at the small prank he just pulled.

Shepard slapped Wrex in the arm, even though it probably felt like a feather tickling him. "You jerks! One of these days, I'm gonna get back at you for that!"

"I'd like to see that, Battlemaster!" Grunt howled.

A few minutes later (and after Shepard calmed her nerves after thinking she was about to get kicked out of town), Liara made the suggestion of another group photo together. Everyone agreed to it and settled under the stringed lights with chairs in one row and all the taller partiers stood behind the chairs (except Garrus, who sat next to Shepard right in the middle of the row of chairs). Liara's drone, Glyph, was taking the photo again, hoovering a few feet away in front of the small crowd and waited patiently.

"Okay everyone!" Shepard called out as everyone was settled and ready. "Let's do it just like last time! Say, 'Normandy!'"

Everyone repeated the word aloud once (and once again, Garrus let the word linger on his tongue after everyone stopped) and Glyph snapped the photo. Later, long after the party was over, the picture would hang on the living room wall inside the Shepard-Vakarian home, right next to the one they all took together a few years back on the Citadel...


	38. The Morning After

At the crack of dawn, Shepard was the first to get out of bed. She was feeling tired and even had it in mind to just lay there surrounded by her blankets. Unfortunately, mother nature had other things in mind.

Slowly, she got herself out of bed. Behind her, she didn't even have to turn to see that Garrus was still asleep... his snoring gave him away. _I still need to record him snoring. Even after all this time, he still denies that he snores._ Soon Shepard was on her feet and she slowly made her way towards the bathroom door, which was just a few steps away.

_Oh thank goodness!_ Shepard cried out in her head as soon as she entered the small area. _Javik didn't end up in the master bathroom like last time on the Citadel. That was WAY too awkward!_

A few minutes later, Shepard stepped out and back into the bedroom, seeing that Garrus was still asleep. She decided in that moment to check up on the rest of her friends, who were surely still sleeping.

Stepping out of her own bedroom, Shepard immediately got a view of Garrus's art room. The door was wide open and she saw that there were too occupants. Liara had fall asleep leaning back against the left wall and it was clear that at some point during the night, she slumped to her right and was now also leaning against one of the storage shelves in the room. In the middle of the room, Javik had fallen asleep on the floor. Shepard raised an eyebrow when she immediately noticed a large, dried puddle of hot pink paint that definitely spilled some time during the night. She then attempt to suppress a laugh when she noticed that some drops of the pink paint somehow ended up on Javik's forehead.

She was definitely not going to ask what happened there.

"Hrm... primitives..." Javik mumbled in his sleep before he resumed snoring.

Shepard then moved a few feet and looked into the third room, which served as the guest room. On the full-size bed, Joker laid on his left side with one arm drapped around EDI's waist. EDI's eyes were open, but there was a good chance that she was focused on some program – or game – as the AI didn't greet her once in view.

Miranda, Vega, Jacob, and Jack also fell asleep in the same room. Vega and Jacob were on sleeping bags laid out on each side of the bed while Jack laid on her own at the foot of the bed on the floor. Somehow, Miranda fell asleep on the desk chair. She was slumped back, her arms dangling over each side, and her head was leaned back and a little off to the left. A thin line of what was definitely drool managed to make its way out of the side of her mouth.

_Glad to know she's not the perfect sleeper,_ Shepard bemused to herself. _But damn if she's not gonna feel sore the seconds she wakes up from that chair._

She then chose to walk forward, going through the hallway before ending up in the living room. It wasn't hard to miss the heavy snores coming from both Wrex and Grunt, who slept on the floor behind the large couch. Zaeed was also snoring on the recliner. Remembering a previous conversation from a while back, she realized that Zaeed wasn't kidding when he compared his snoring to a buzzsaw.

_How anyone else can sleep through all that noise is beyond me_ , Shepard thought with some amazement. She was just lucky she only had Garrus to deal with, let alone two krogans and an old, grizzled mercenary.

She then noticed everyone else in the living room; Traynor fell asleep on the two-seater loveseat while Kaidan and Cortez shared the big couch. The two leaned on their right side with Cortez leaning his head against Kaidan's shoulder. Kaidan had his own arm around Cortez's shoulder, a small contented smile on her face. The sight alone made Shepard smile, happy for the two of them.

Shepard then moved to the kitchen and was amused to see the state of both Kasumi and Tali. Kasumi had fallen asleep at the table, the side of her head resting on top of her folded arms. Tali fell asleep on the floor and was currently laying halfway between her right side and her stomach. Amusingly, she was clutching onto the volus plush doll Shepard had won in a claw game back in the Castle Arcade on the Citadel; like a child clutching onto a teddy bear.

_I thought I packed that away,_ Shepard thought concerning the volus plush.

That was when Shepard spotted a handwritten note on the table in front of Kasumi, something that wasn't there last night. Curious, Shepard carefully lifted the paper off the table before reading the words -

_Shepard -_

_Thank you for inviting me to your reunion. It had been a wonderful evening and it was nice to see everyone again._

_I apologize for leaving before you woke up, but I must head out. Always remember, if you ever need my help, know that I will always answer your call._

_-Samara._

Shepard smiled after reading the note. "Thank you, Samara," she whispered as she folded the paper and placed it in her pocket. It was then that Shepard decided to walk outside and onto the front porch, careful to remain as quiet as possible as she reached the handle of the front door. Just as she turned the knob, a loud snort was heard and it was enough to cause Shepard to nearly jump out of her skin. She turned her head and saw Grunt moving a bit on the floor and she thought for sure that the young krogan was going to wake up.

"Sharks... lasers... awesome..." Grunt grumbled before he soon relaxed and resumed snoring. Shepard chuckled to herself before she slowly opened the front door and stepped outside.

By then, the sun was starting to rise over the horizon, though the trees, their branches and leave gently swaying in the light morning wind and blocking out some of the rays from shining onto the front of the cabin. Shepard was okay with that for right now since it meant that the sun wouldn't be blaring into her eyes at the moment. It would give her the chance to clear her mind and simply enjoy the view of the mostly empty field in front of her; the grass and leaves of the trees were a brilliant green against the clear, yellowish sky slowly turning light blue, and she breathed in the crisp, clean fresh air.

As of today, she couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

A few minutes later, Shepard heard the front door open. She turned her head and saw Garrus step outside before he closed the door behind him. He was still wearing the pajama pants he wore during the night, but he clearly had taken the time to put on a shirt before coming out of the bedroom.

"Hey, I was wondering where you were," Garrus said as he sat next to her on the other wicker chair.

Shepard smiled at him. "And I thought you'd be sleeping like the others for the rest of the morning."

"I would if it wasn't for the priority vid-call my Dad insisted I answer right away."

"What about?" she asked curiosly.

Garrus tapped a few commands on his omni-tool. Meanwhile, Shepard didn't miss the fact that Garrus's mandibles widened into a grin. He was definitely excited about something. Shepard smiled, having a feeling over what it was but decided to wait until Garrus told her.

"Our nephew decided to come a tad bit early, and apparently very quickly last night," Garrus chuckled as he showed Shepard the picture his dad sent him – Shepard figured the arms in the picture belonged to Solana, but of course, the main focus was the tiny turian infant she held, the little guy swaddled in a heavy green blanket. The little turian had the same colored plates as Solana did, but also possessed the brown gray hide and bright green eyes of his father, Xarius.

"I..." Shepard started to say. "...Have never seen a baby turian until now. Are all turian babies _this_ adorable?"

Garrus laughed. "Well, they definitely don't come out looking wrinkly like you humans do."

"Uh huh," Shepard chuckled. "What's his name?"

"Lukus Vakarian," Garrus said proudly. "It's a good, strong name in turian culture. I'd say it's a good choice."

Shepard smiled. "Well... he's definitely a Vakarian. Considering how quick he apparently arrvied last night, he's already as impatient as his uncle."

"Har har," Garrus grumbled, though there was some mirth in his voice. "Just wait until I teach him how to use a sniper rifle. Of course, I can't teach him everything... can't let even my nephew upstage his uncle."

"As proud as ever," Shepard chuckled. "Either way, this event proves one thing for now... we're definitely going to book passage to Palaven very soon to see your nephew."

" _Our_ nephew," Garrus corrected as he gently took her hand into his. "I know we're not married, but you're still family."

Shepard smiled as she gently squeezed his hand. "Thanks."

For a few minutes, the couple sat in silence, content in enjoying each other's company as the sun continued to rise above the horizon. It was funny... two years ago, Shepard couldn't even imagine the life she was living now. She always thought that the only life she would live was one as a soldier, bringing peace and fighting for the future of the galaxy wherever she went. She thought life would be filled with constant travels on a war ship and never staying in one place for more than a few days. If she was lucky, she would eventually find herself as an Admiral, and even then she would most likely be the type of Admiral her superior Hackett was now... still fighting the good fight. After all, this was the path she spent most of her life living.

Despite the circumstances of her recovery, it did do one good thing... slow her down enough to see what civilian life was like. For the past year, Shepard found herself staying in one place for more than a few days. There was only a little bit of traveling to other places like Palaven, but this time they were more of her choosing than wherever she was needed. She also got to know this little town in the middle of nowhere and the people who lived here, which was definitely nice. Plus, it was great being able to have a couple of pets around, including a cat (she still missed Vinny the Space Hamster very much).

There was the lingering question as to what use she would be to the galaxy with how slow she was recovering... and still recovering as it is. How long would her injuries keep her down and how would it be before she could get back into the thick of it? Then, she spoke to Dr. Chakwas and came to realize something that day, but only now was it sinking into her mind... even if she did fully recover tomorrow... would she even _want_ to go back to being a soldier after fighting a high-scale war AND knowing peace afterwards? A year ago, the answer would've been easy; heck yeah, she definitely wanted to be back on the front lines. It was the life she had known since she became a marine all those years ago and, despite how she grew up prior to signing up, it was the only life she knew.

Now? The answer was more obvious than ever... it was time to put down her weapon for good. She had served honorably as a soldier and there were many other marines out there, like Vega, who were capable in carrying on with protecting the galaxy and helping those who need it the way any marine knew how. Her time was over... and that thought alone helped her make peace with that decision. Funny... a year ago, those words would've been met with despair. Not anymore.

Still, she wanted to serve the Alliance – let alone the galaxy - in some way. In that moment, Shepard made another decision about her future. "I'm going to take that N7 Advisor job," she said to Garrus. "Once everyone clears out, I'm going to give Hackett a call."

In response, Garrus leaned towards her before pressing his mouth to the side of her head. "I was wondering when you would take the opportunity to yell at new recruits like a drill sergeant."

Shepard laughed. "Only if I'm provoked enough."

"What made you decide to take the job?"

Shepard took a deep breath before she responded. "Because I still want to be part of the Alliance even with all the political bullshit. And even if that, and my injuries, wasn't the case, I think it's time for me to put down my gun, so to speak. The best place for me now is to help guide future N7 soldiers. This will be my way of helping to rebuild the galaxy to what it used to be, all while maintaining the peace and harmony of not just humanity, but of all species through these new recruits."

Garrus wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You know I would've supported you in whatever decision you made."

Shepard smiled. "You always did have my six. And you know... I forgot to mention that Hackett sent me a data packet. Let's just say that the pay would afford us two more places... one on Palaven and maybe one somewhere that's actually warm and tropical."

Garrus raised his browplates at that. "You want to do that?"

"I'd be nice, though there's no rush," Shepard said. "We can also have them serve as timeshares for whenever we're not there. It's another way for us to make a little more money. Also... I decided once Zakera Ward is functioning again on the Citadel, I'm going to donate Anderson's apartment to a family in need. After everything, well... there's too many ghosts up there. And they'll need it more than I will."

Garrus leaned the side of his head into hers. "As I said... I support whatever decisions you make."

Shepard laughed as she reached out to grasp onto his free hand. "Well... we sure deserve a peaceful future after all the craziness we've been through."

Garrus chuckled. "That's for sure. Even with all its up and downs, it was surely a damn good ride."

Shepard smiled warmly as she gently squeezed his hand. "The best."

The two shared a brief kiss before turning their attention back towards the rising run, chosing to spend whatever alone time they have with each other in contented silence until their friends inside their beautiful cabin, the home they shared together, stirred awake.

After everything the galaxy threw at them, Shepard and Garrus could finally know a life, together, of happiness and tranquility.

 

 

**The End**


End file.
